# Is "The Ancient Child" by N. Scott Momaday a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Ancient Child by N. Scott Momaday (Doubleday, 1989) is identified by: The point is the words "First Edition" stated on the copyright page beneath the copyright notice — Doubleday's documented practice across 1927–2000 — and dealers describe trade first printings of this title as "first edition stated." For Doubleday in this period the stated line, not a number line, is the operative point; later printings drop the statement. US Doubleday (New York), 1989 is the true first and is the only hardcover first — no UK hardcover edition of the same date was located in the sources consulted, so this is genuinely a US-only first and the census claim stands.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The point is the words "First Edition" stated on the copyright page beneath the copyright notice — Doubleday's documented practice across 1927–2000 — and dealers describe trade first printings of this title as "first edition stated." For Doubleday in this period the stated line, not a number line, is the operative point; later printings drop the statement
- The book is issued in quarter cloth over boards with a pictorial dust jacket, priced at the flap with a Canadian price beneath it; dealer descriptions of the spine cloth vary (tan with black-and-white lettering, brown with copper lettering), so the binding shade is not a dependable point
- Collation is 314 pages, ISBN 0-385-27972-8
- No first-state text errors are documented in the sources consulted
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | N. Scott Momaday |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Year | 1989 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The point is the words "First Edition" stated on the copyright page beneath the copyright notice — Doubleday's documented practice across… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The point is the words "First Edition" stated on the copyright page beneath the copyright notice — Doubleday's documented practice across 1927–2000 — and dealers describe trade first printings of this title as "first edition stated." For Doubleday in this period the stated line, not a number line, is the operative point; later printings drop the statement. The book is issued in quarter cloth over boards with a pictorial dust jacket, priced at the flap with a Canadian price beneath it; dealer descriptions of the spine cloth vary (tan with black-and-white lettering, brown with copper lettering), so the binding shade is not a dependable point. Collation is 314 pages, ISBN 0-385-27972-8. No first-state text errors are documented in the sources consulted.

## Is this the true first?
US Doubleday (New York), 1989 is the true first and is the only hardcover first — no UK hardcover edition of the same date was located in the sources consulted, so this is genuinely a US-only first and the census claim stands. The Harper Perennial paperback of 1990 (ISBN 0-06-097345-5) is a first-thus reissue with no precedence and is the most common trap, since it is the edition most often shelved and cited. Momaday wrote in English, so no original-language precedence question arises. This is Momaday's second novel, after the Pulitzer-winning House Made of Dawn.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted; the dealer listings examined all describe trade copies. If a Doubleday club printing exists, the period tells would apply: an unpriced jacket, a five-digit code in a white block on the rear jacket panel, absent bar code, thinner bulk and cheaper binding, and a blind stamp at the lower rear board — and note that a Doubleday club copy can still show "First Edition" on the copyright page, so the stated line must always be checked against the jacket and binding.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Ancient Child* by N. Scott Momaday a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-ancient-child
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.