# Is "So Little Time" by John P. Marquand a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of So Little Time by John P. Marquand (Little, Brown and Company, 1943) is identified by: First printing identified by the Little, Brown first-edition statement on the copyright page, with no later-printing notice present. US first, Little, Brown, Boston, 1943.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing identified by the Little, Brown first-edition statement on the copyright page, with no later-printing notice present
- The first issue is bound in tan cloth with a blue spine label and gilt lettering, with untrimmed pages and a red topstain, collating to [595] pages; the first-state dust jacket should retain its printed price and be unclipped
- Because the book was reprinted rapidly, watch for later-printing notices such as an August 1943 seventh-printing statement, which does not identify a first
- Publisher imprint reads Little, Brown and Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John P. Marquand |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
| Year | 1943 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing identified by the Little, Brown first-edition statement on the copyright page, with no later-printing notice present |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing identified by the Little, Brown first-edition statement on the copyright page, with no later-printing notice present. The first issue is bound in tan cloth with a blue spine label and gilt lettering, with untrimmed pages and a red topstain, collating to [595] pages; the first-state dust jacket should retain its printed price and be unclipped. Because the book was reprinted rapidly, watch for later-printing notices such as an August 1943 seventh-printing statement, which does not identify a first.

## Is this the true first?
US first, Little, Brown, Boston, 1943. First British edition published by Robert Hale, London, in 1944.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A Book-of-the-Month Club issue exists, identifiable by a blind-stamped impression (small dot or square) on the lower rear board near the spine; it is not the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *So Little Time* by John P. Marquand a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/so-little-time
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.