# Is "The Bridges of Madison County" by Robert James Waller a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller (Warner Books, 1992) is identified by: The first printing is identified by the statement "First Printing: April 1992" on the copyright page together with a complete number line in which the 1 is present (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1); both must be present, and a copy stating a later printing or showing a line whose lowest number is above 1 is not a first. The Warner Books (New York) edition of April 1992 is the true first and the census claim is correct.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first printing is identified by the statement "First Printing: April 1992" on the copyright page together with a complete number line in which the 1 is present (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1); both must be present, and a copy stating a later printing or showing a line whose lowest number is above 1 is not a first
- Octavo, xii, [2], 171 pp
- ISBN 0-446-51652-X. Bound in tan to light-brown paper-covered boards with a green cloth spine, the spine titled in silver
- Note: dealer descriptions disagree on the spine lettering, some calling it silver and others white, so lettering color is a weak point — rely on the printing statement and the number line
- Issued in a priced jacket, price present and unclipped at the front flap
- No first-state text error is recorded in the sources consulted
- Publisher imprint reads Warner Books

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert James Waller |
| Publisher | Warner Books |
| Year | 1992 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first printing is identified by the statement "First Printing: April 1992" on the copyright page together with a complete number line… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The first printing is identified by the statement "First Printing: April 1992" on the copyright page together with a complete number line in which the 1 is present (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1); both must be present, and a copy stating a later printing or showing a line whose lowest number is above 1 is not a first. Octavo, xii, [2], 171 pp. ISBN 0-446-51652-X. Bound in tan to light-brown paper-covered boards with a green cloth spine, the spine titled in silver. Note: dealer descriptions disagree on the spine lettering, some calling it silver and others white, so lettering color is a weak point — rely on the printing statement and the number line. Issued in a priced jacket, price present and unclipped at the front flap. No first-state text error is recorded in the sources consulted.

## Is this the true first?
The Warner Books (New York) edition of April 1992 is the true first and the census claim is correct. Waller is American and this was a US debut from a US publisher; no UK or foreign edition preceding or simultaneous with the Warner April 1992 printing was found in the sources consulted, and the UK edition followed only after the book became a phenomenon. The trap here is chronological rather than geographic: the April 1992 first printing preceded the word-of-mouth explosion and is scarce, while the millions of copies in circulation are later printings struck from the same plates and dated to the same year — they are separable only by the copyright-page printing statement and the number line, not by appearance. Later gift, illustrated, and 1995 film tie-in issues are "first thus" at best and are not the first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A Warner book-club issue circulates widely and is the principal trap, since club copies can carry the trade edition's copyright page. Club tells are physical: no price at the jacket flap, a blind stamp — a small dot, circle, square, or triangle — impressed into the rear board at the lower corner nearest the spine, thinner boards and lighter bulk than the trade issue, and sometimes "Book Club Edition" printed at the lower right of the front flap. Per standard doctrine, any of these overrides a "First Printing: April 1992" statement or a complete number line reproduced from the trade plates.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Bridges of Madison County* by Robert James Waller a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-bridges-of-madison-county
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.