# Is "The Bastard" by Erskine Caldwell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Bastard by Erskine Caldwell (Heron Press, 1929) is identified by: First edition, Heron Press, New York, 1929, illustrated by Ty Mahon, with a frontispiece and five plates and the title page set within a decorative border. US first edition; one of the scarcest Caldwell titles.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Heron Press, New York, 1929, illustrated by Ty Mahon, with a frontispiece and five plates and the title page set within a decorative border
- The entire edition totaled 1,100 numbered copies in two states: copies 1 to 200 printed on American Handcraft paper and bound in balloon cloth, signed by author and illustrator on the limitation page; copies 201 to 1,100 (900 copies) printed on Mellow Book paper and bound in Holliston cloth
- Caldwell's first book
- Publisher imprint reads Heron Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erskine Caldwell |
| Publisher | Heron Press |
| Year | 1929 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, Heron Press, New York, 1929, illustrated by Ty Mahon, with a frontispiece and five plates and the title page set within a… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, Heron Press, New York, 1929, illustrated by Ty Mahon, with a frontispiece and five plates and the title page set within a decorative border. The entire edition totaled 1,100 numbered copies in two states: copies 1 to 200 printed on American Handcraft paper and bound in balloon cloth, signed by author and illustrator on the limitation page; copies 201 to 1,100 (900 copies) printed on Mellow Book paper and bound in Holliston cloth. Caldwell's first book.

## Is this the true first?
US first edition; one of the scarcest Caldwell titles. Banned for obscenity in Portland, Maine.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. Later reissues exist; the 1929 Heron Press issue is the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Bastard* by Erskine Caldwell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-bastard
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.