# Is "Standing by Words" by Wendell Berry a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Standing by Words by Wendell Berry (North Point Press, 1983) is identified by: North Point Press (San Francisco) first printing, 1983, of this essay collection. True first edition of this essay collection; North Point was Berry's US publisher and there was no earlier UK printing.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- North Point Press (San Francisco) first printing, 1983, of this essay collection
- North Point books carry no printer's number line, so a first printing is identified by the absence of any later-printing or additional-printing statement on the copyright page
- The book was issued simultaneously in a cloth binding (ISBN 0-86547-121-5) and in wrappers (ISBN 0-86547-122-3); the cloth issue was a small binding of the print run and is the preferred collectible form, with the trade issue in wrappers
- Cloth copies were issued in a dust jacket that should retain its printed price on the flap
- The standard reference is the Freedman bibliography of Berry, which catalogues the cloth issue as A49b and the wrappers as A49c
- Publisher imprint reads North Point Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Wendell Berry |
| Publisher | North Point Press |
| Year | 1983 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | North Point Press (San Francisco) first printing, 1983, of this essay collection |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
North Point Press (San Francisco) first printing, 1983, of this essay collection. North Point books carry no printer's number line, so a first printing is identified by the absence of any later-printing or additional-printing statement on the copyright page. The book was issued simultaneously in a cloth binding (ISBN 0-86547-121-5) and in wrappers (ISBN 0-86547-122-3); the cloth issue was a small binding of the print run and is the preferred collectible form, with the trade issue in wrappers. Cloth copies were issued in a dust jacket that should retain its printed price on the flap. The standard reference is the Freedman bibliography of Berry, which catalogues the cloth issue as A49b and the wrappers as A49c.

## Is this the true first?
True first edition of this essay collection; North Point was Berry's US publisher and there was no earlier UK printing. Because North Point used no number line, verify a first printing by the clean copyright page (no statement of later or additional printings) rather than by a printer's key.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. North Point issued the cloth and wrappers simultaneously with no priority stated between them; the cloth issue was the smaller binding and is the preferred collectible form. Later North Point printings add a printing statement to the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Standing by Words* by Wendell Berry a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/standing-by-words
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.