Is My Taos Pueblo signed first a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first edition is the 1930 Grabhorn Press (San Francisco) folio, text by Mary Hunter Austin with twelve original photographs by Ansel Adams
• Limited to 108 copies (100 numbered for sale plus 8 hors-commerce / artist copies), each signed in ink by both Austin and Adams in the colophon
• Large folio (roughly 17 by 12.5 inches) hand-bound by Hazel Dreis in quarter tan morocco over orange buckram, with a Thunderbird motif designed by Angelo Valenti
• Critically, the twelve plates are genuine hand-made silver photographic prints tipped in (silver-bromide prints Adams printed himself on rag paper sensitized by William Dassonville), not halftone or gravure reproductions
• Confirm the ink signatures of both Austin and Adams in the colophon and that the plates are real mounted photographs

How Grabhorn Press marked a first edition

• Fine letterpress limited editions (San Francisco); printed colophon with stated limitation, often signed by the Grabhorns or the artist
• Distinctive bold display typography, decorated papers, and the Grabhorn device authenticate; handmade papers

Full Grabhorn Press first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The 1930 Grabhorn Press folio with actual tipped-in silver photographs, signed by both Austin and Adams in the colophon, is the true first and is the only edition containing original photographic prints.P-001869

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Do not confuse with the 1977 New York Graphic Society facsimile: it was limited to 950 copies, is signed by Adams alone, and reproduces the images as gravure plates rather than original silver prints. That 1977 edition (and any later reprint) is not the 1930 first.P-001870

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Taos Pueblo signed first a first edition?

A first edition of Taos Pueblo signed first by Ansel Adams (Grabhorn Press) is identified by: The true first edition is the 1930 Grabhorn Press (San Francisco) folio, text by Mary Hunter Austin with twelve original photographs by Ansel Adams.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The 1930 Grabhorn Press folio with actual tipped-in silver photographs, signed by both Austin and Adams in the colophon, is the true first and is the only edition containing original photographic prints.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Do not confuse with the 1977 New York Graphic Society facsimile: it was limited to 950 copies, is signed by Adams alone, and reproduces the images as gravure plates rather than original silver prints. That 1977 edition (and any later reprint) is not the 1930 first.

I have a first edition of Taos Pueblo signed first — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.