# Is "The Adventures of Augie March" by Saul Bellow a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow (The Viking Press, 1953) is identified by: The claimed points are individually accurate but materially INCOMPLETE — they omit the two decisive first-ISSUE points, so a copy matching the claim could still be a later second-issue printing. US Viking is the true first; UK Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1954) is later.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The claimed points are individually accurate but materially INCOMPLETE — they omit the two decisive first-ISSUE points, so a copy matching the claim could still be a later second-issue printing
- Corrected/complete points for the true first edition, first issue (The Viking Press, 1953): 1
- COPYRIGHT PAGE: Reads "Published by The Viking Press in September 1953" with NO statement of later/subsequent printings
- (Claim's generic "Published...1953, no later-printing line, Viking imprint" is correct but imprecise on the month.) 2
- PRINTER STATEMENT (KEY ISSUE POINT — OMITTED IN CLAIM): First issue states "Printed in U.S.A. by the Vail-Ballou Press, Inc." at the bottom of the copyright page
- The SECOND issue instead shows H. Wolff as printer
- Publisher imprint reads The Viking Press

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Saul Bellow |
| Publisher | The Viking Press |
| Year | 1953 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The claimed points are individually accurate but materially INCOMPLETE — they omit the two decisive first-ISSUE points, so a copy matching… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The claimed points are individually accurate but materially INCOMPLETE — they omit the two decisive first-ISSUE points, so a copy matching the claim could still be a later second-issue printing. Corrected/complete points for the true first edition, first issue (The Viking Press, 1953): 1. COPYRIGHT PAGE: Reads "Published by The Viking Press in September 1953" with NO statement of later/subsequent printings. (Claim's generic "Published...1953, no later-printing line, Viking imprint" is correct but imprecise on the month.)
2. PRINTER STATEMENT (KEY ISSUE POINT — OMITTED IN CLAIM): First issue states "Printed in U.S.A. by the Vail-Ballou Press, Inc." at the bottom of the copyright page. The SECOND issue instead shows H. Wolff as printer.
3. TOP-EDGE STAIN (KEY ISSUE POINT — OMITTED IN CLAIM): First issue has ORANGE top-edge stain (topstain). The second issue has NO topstain. Binding: black and gray cloth with orange titles.
4. DUST JACKET (issue point — partly omitted): the printed price on the upper front flap (CONFIRMED accurate). First-issue jacket has the ad for "The Short Novels of John Steinbeck" on the rear flap and NO reviews. Jacket design by Robert Hallock.
5. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD: CONFIRMED — won the National Book Award for Fiction (awarded 1954). Bellow's third book and first NBA winner. TRUE-FIRST NOTE: CONFIRMED ACCURATE — US Viking Press (1953) is the true first edition; the UK Weidenfeld & Nicolson edition (1954) is later.

## Is this the true first?
US Viking is the true first; UK Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1954) is later.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club edition has a blind-stamp on the rear board, lacks the dated first-printing copyright line, and uses bulkier paper.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Adventures of Augie March* by Saul Bellow a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-adventures-of-augie-march
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.