# Is "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" by Wallace Stegner a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner (Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1943) is identified by: First printing carries the Duell, Sloan and Pearce imprint with no statement of later printings on the copyright page. US Duell, Sloan and Pearce 1943 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing carries the Duell, Sloan and Pearce imprint with no statement of later printings on the copyright page
- Wartime-economy paper and binding
- First-issue dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap
- Issued in cloth lettered in contrasting ink
- Publisher imprint reads Duell, Sloan and Pearce
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Wallace Stegner |
| Publisher | Duell, Sloan and Pearce |
| Year | 1943 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing carries the Duell, Sloan and Pearce imprint with no statement of later printings on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing carries the Duell, Sloan and Pearce imprint with no statement of later printings on the copyright page. Wartime-economy paper and binding. First-issue dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap. Issued in cloth lettered in contrasting ink.

## Is this the true first?
US Duell, Sloan and Pearce 1943 is the true first. Stegner's breakthrough autobiographical novel. Firsts in the original jacket are scarce because of wartime production. A UK edition followed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-of-the-Month and later reprints exist. Because the Book-of-the-Month Club adopted blind stamps after 1947, a 1943 first will not bear one, while later club reprints may carry a blind stamp on the rear board and usually lack a printed jacket price. The 1943 first shows the Duell, Sloan and Pearce imprint with no later-printing notice.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Big Rock Candy Mountain* by Wallace Stegner a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-big-rock-candy-mountain
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.