Is My Texas a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing has "First Edition" stated on the copyright page TOGETHER WITH the Random House number line running down to 2
• This is the Random House 1976–2000 convention and it is the trap on this title: the number line on both first and second printings ends (or begins) with a 2, so the line alone proves nothing — a copy with the 2-line but no "First Edition" statement is a second printing
• Both elements must be present
• Physical points: a single massive octavo volume (dealers collate xiii + 1,096 pp.; other sources report 1,076 — page-count reports vary), bound in blue cloth with gilt spine lettering and the star of Texas stamped on the front board; pictorial jacket with the price present at the front flap on unclipped copies
• The first printing was extremely large — reported at 750,000 copies, said to be the largest initial run in the company's history — so stated firsts are common and condition is what separates copies
• No first-state text errors are documented

How Random House marked a first edition

• Classic paradox era (c.1970–2002/03) — THE famous Random House rule: a true first printing states 'First Edition' AND carries a number line whose lowest digit is 2 — the line ENDS (or begins) in 2 and NEVER reaches 1, e.…
• Classic-era reprint mechanics (c.1970–2002/03): on going to a second printing Random House simply DELETED the words 'First Edition' from the copyright page and left the number line intact — so a bare '2'-ending line with…

Full Random House 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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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?

CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED: no Texas A&M (or State House Press) limited edition preceding the trade issue could be found; that claim is unsupported and appears to be a conflation. The collected first is the Random House trade edition, New York, 1985. Two other 1985–86 issues exist and must not be mistaken for it: (a) a Random House signed and numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies, 1985, in cloth (reported variously as burnt-orange, mauve or brown) with gilt spine lettering and the Texas star on the front board, in a publisher's slipcase — collected alongside the trade first, but precedence between the two is not documented in any source consulted, so neither should be asserted to precede the other; and (b) the University of Texas Press Sesquicentennial edition, 1986, two volumes in quarter leather, limited to 400 numbered copies signed by Michener and illustrator Charles Shaw, in a cloth slipcase — this is a year later and is a "first thus" trap, not the first. A UK hardcover (Secker & Warburg, London) also appeared and does not precede the American edition; the Corgi UK paperback (1986) is a reprint.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The strongest tell on this title: the book-club issue of Texas is a TWO-VOLUME set, whereas the Random House trade first is one thick single volume — any two-volume Random House "Texas" in jackets is the club issue, not the first (the two-volume University of Texas Press set is quarter leather in a slipcase and is a separate, later limited edition). Other standard club tells: no price at the jacket flap (often "Book Club Edition" printed there), a blind stamp or colored deboss at the lower rear board, and smaller trim with lighter, bulkier paper.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Texas a first edition?

A first edition of Texas by James A. Michener (Random House) is identified by: The first printing has "First Edition" stated on the copyright page TOGETHER WITH the Random House number line running down to 2.

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

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED: no Texas A&M (or State House Press) limited edition preceding the trade issue could be found; that claim is unsupported and appears to be a conflation.

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

The strongest tell on this title: the book-club issue of Texas is a TWO-VOLUME set, whereas the Random House trade first is one thick single volume — any two-volume Random House "Texas" in jackets is the club issue, not the first (the two-volume University of Texas Press set is quarter leather in a slipcase and is a separate, later limited edition). Other standard club tells: no price at the jacket flap (often "Book Club Edition" printed there), a blind stamp or colored deboss at the lower rear

I have a first edition of Texas — 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.