Is My The American Express a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Corso's first and only novel, issued as number 85 in Olympia's Traveller's Companion series in green printed wrappers lettered in black, with a green-printed title page and the author's own drawings throughout
• First issue came with a scarce photographic card dust jacket printed in black, white, and orange; the presence of that jacket is the desirable point, and copies retaining it are uncommon

How The Olympia Press marked a first edition

• 1953–1965 (Paris, under Maurice Girodias): titles were issued in printed paper wrappers, not cloth. The Traveller's Companion Series appeared in plain green text-only wrappers, each bearing a series number. A first print…
• Olympia Press New York (Girodias's mid-to-late 1960s revival) used US paperback and hardcover formats; first printings carry an explicit 'first printing' statement or a number line where one is present. These are a separ…

Full The Olympia 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. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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?

True first is the 1961 Olympia Press Paris wrappered original in the Traveller's Companion series.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book club edition.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The American Express a first edition?

A first edition of The American Express by Gregory Corso (The Olympia Press) is identified by: Corso's first and only novel, issued as number 85 in Olympia's Traveller's Companion series in green printed wrappers lettered in black, with a green-printed title page and the author's own drawings throughout.

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. True first is the 1961 Olympia Press Paris wrappered original in the Traveller's Companion series.

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

No book club edition.

I have a first edition of The American Express — what should I do?

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 lost. To sell, see the author’s collecting guide. Either way, nothing collectible ends up in a landfill.

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.