# Is "The Assistant" by Bernard Malamud a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Assistant by Bernard Malamud (Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1957) is identified by: First edition, first printing: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, New York, 1957. The census claim is confirmed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, New York, 1957
- The copyright page states 'First Printing, 1957' — the primary test
- Collation 246 pages, octavo (approx
- Bound with a black cloth spine over brown paper-covered boards, titling stamped in white and orange on the spine and front cover
- Dust jacket designed by Milton Glaser
- The jacket rear panel carries five book reviews — reviews of Malamud's first book, The Natural; one ABAA dealer designates this the first-state jacket, though a distinct later jacket state is asserted by only that single source and should be treated as unconfirmed
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Cudahy

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Bernard Malamud |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Cudahy |
| Year | 1957 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, New York, 1957 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, New York, 1957. The copyright page states 'First Printing, 1957' — the primary test. Collation 246 pages, octavo (approx. 21.5cm). Bound with a black cloth spine over brown paper-covered boards, titling stamped in white and orange on the spine and front cover. Dust jacket designed by Milton Glaser. The jacket rear panel carries five book reviews — reviews of Malamud's first book, The Natural; one ABAA dealer designates this the first-state jacket, though a distinct later jacket state is asserted by only that single source and should be treated as unconfirmed. Priced jacket, price present at the upper corner of the front flap. Malamud's second novel and second book.

## Is this the true first?
The census claim is confirmed. The US Farrar, Straus and Cudahy 1957 edition is the true first. The first UK edition is Eyre & Spottiswoode, London, 1959 — corroborated by the Oregon State University Special Collections Malamud catalogue, which records the author's own copy — and is preceded by the American issue by two years. Do not confuse this title's straightforward precedence with the contested two-issue situation of Malamud's next book, The Magic Barrel (1958).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition is documented in the sources consulted. The dependable test is the copyright-page statement: a copy lacking 'First Printing, 1957' is not the first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Assistant* by Bernard Malamud a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-assistant
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.