# Is "The Conquest of Don Pedro" by Harvey Fergusson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Conquest of Don Pedro by Harvey Fergusson (William Morrow, 1954) is identified by: William Morrow, New York, 1954 confirmed by Library of Congress card number 54007104 (the "54-" prefix fixes the registration year) and OCLC 1120038. US-only first; no separately published UK edition was located, and no original-language predecessor applies.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- William Morrow, New York, 1954 confirmed by Library of Congress card number 54007104 (the "54-" prefix fixes the registration year) and OCLC 1120038
- No book-specific points are documented for this title; identification rests on Morrow's house practice, which two independent publisher guides (ILAB and Quill & Brush/QBB) state in identical terms: prior to 1973 Morrow only sometimes printed "First Printing (Month, Year)" on the copyright page but ALWAYS indicated later printings
- A 1954 Morrow copyright page bearing no "Second Printing," "Third Printing," or "Second Edition" notation is therefore a first printing; the absence of any "First Printing" line is not disqualifying
- Morrow did not use a number line at this date — a number line on any copy of this title indicates a later book
- Issued in cloth; where a jacket is present it should be a priced jacket, with the price present at the front flap and unclipped
- Publisher imprint reads William Morrow
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Harvey Fergusson |
| Publisher | William Morrow |
| Year | 1954 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | William Morrow, New York, 1954 confirmed by Library of Congress card number 54007104 (the "54-" prefix fixes the registration year) and… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
William Morrow, New York, 1954 confirmed by Library of Congress card number 54007104 (the "54-" prefix fixes the registration year) and OCLC 1120038. No book-specific points are documented for this title; identification rests on Morrow's house practice, which two independent publisher guides (ILAB and Quill & Brush/QBB) state in identical terms: prior to 1973 Morrow only sometimes printed "First Printing (Month, Year)" on the copyright page but ALWAYS indicated later printings. A 1954 Morrow copyright page bearing no "Second Printing," "Third Printing," or "Second Edition" notation is therefore a first printing; the absence of any "First Printing" line is not disqualifying. Morrow did not use a number line at this date — a number line on any copy of this title indicates a later book. Issued in cloth; where a jacket is present it should be a priced jacket, with the price present at the front flap and unclipped.

## Is this the true first?
US-only first; no separately published UK edition was located, and no original-language predecessor applies. CORRECTION TO A COMMON ERROR: Wikipedia's Fergusson bibliography dates this title 1955, which is wrong for the first edition — 1955 is the Pocket Books paperback. The Morrow imprint plus the "54-" LCCN prefix confirm 1954 for the true first. This was Fergusson's last novel.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition documented. Two reprint traps: the Pocket Books (New York) 1955 paperback, which the ABAA dealer Bolerium describes as a "first wraps printing" — first thus in wrappers, not the first edition; and the University of New Mexico Press 1974 reprint issued as "A Zia Book" (LCCN 74084231; ISBN 0826303595). Any ISBN, any "Zia Book" series line, or paperback wrappers indicate a reprint rather than the Morrow first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Conquest of Don Pedro* by Harvey Fergusson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-conquest-of-don-pedro
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.