# Is "Tales of the South Pacific" by James A. Michener a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener (The Macmillan Company, 1947) is identified by: Macmillan first printing with no statement of a later printing on the copyright page; first-issue cloth binding. US Macmillan 1947 true first; Michener's first book and the 1948 Pulitzer winner.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Macmillan first printing with no statement of a later printing on the copyright page; first-issue cloth binding
- The debut had a small first printing, making the true first and an intact first-issue dust jacket carrying the printed price genuinely scarce
- Publisher imprint reads The Macmillan Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | James A. Michener |
| Publisher | The Macmillan Company |
| Year | 1947 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Macmillan first printing with no statement of a later printing on the copyright page; first-issue cloth binding |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Macmillan first printing with no statement of a later printing on the copyright page; first-issue cloth binding. The debut had a small first printing, making the true first and an intact first-issue dust jacket carrying the printed price genuinely scarce.

## Is this the true first?
US Macmillan 1947 true first; Michener's first book and the 1948 Pulitzer winner. The small print run makes the first issue in the first-issue jacket highly collectible.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings add a printing statement. Book-club editions became common after the stage musical 'South Pacific' drove demand and are clearly marked as such.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Tales of the South Pacific* by James A. Michener a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/tales-of-the-south-pacific
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.