The points of issue
First edition, Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston and New York, 1896 (issued November 1896), 213 pages. Green cloth with gilt top, the binding designed by Sarah Wyman Whitman; title, author and ornament stamped in gilt on the upper board, and title, author and publisher in gilt on the spine. The 1896 text comprises the sketches as first collected; later editions interpolate additional Dunnet Landing stories ('The Queen's Twin,' 'A Dunnet Shepherdess,' 'William's Wedding') that are not present in the 1896 first.
Is this the true first?
US true first, 1896, with the original non-interpolated text (213 pages). Posthumous and later editions add the three later Dunnet stories; those expanded texts are 'first thus' for the added material but not the true first of the book.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Editions containing the interpolated later Dunnet Landing chapters (the expanded 24-chapter text appears from 1919, and the 1925 Houghton Mifflin edition carries Willa Cather's preface) postdate the 1896 first and lack the original Houghton Mifflin 1896 imprint and Sarah Wyman Whitman binding.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of The Country of the Pointed Firs a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: First edition, Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston and New York, 1896 (issued November 1896), 213 pages. Green cloth with gilt top, the binding designed by Sarah Wyman Whitman; title, author and ornament stamped in gilt on the upper board, and title, author and publisher in gilt on the spine. The 1896 text comprises the sketches as first collected; later editions interpolate additional Dunnet Landing stories ('The Queen's Twin,' 'A Dunnet Shepherdess,' 'William's Wedding') that are not present in the 1896 first.
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. US true first, 1896, with the original non-interpolated text (213 pages). Posthumous and later editions add the three later Dunnet stories; those expanded texts are 'first thus' for the added material but not the true first of the book.
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
Editions containing the interpolated later Dunnet Landing chapters (the expanded 24-chapter text appears from 1919, and the 1925 Houghton Mifflin edition carries Willa Cather's preface) postdate the 1896 first and lack the original Houghton Mifflin 1896 imprint and Sarah Wyman Whitman binding.
I have a first edition of The Country of the Pointed Firs — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.