Is My The Covered Wagon a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first is D. Appleton and Company, New York, 1922, and the first printing is identified by Appleton's numeral code in parentheses at the foot of the last page: "
• " = first printing, "
• " = second printing, and so on — the Quill & Brush publisher guide states this rule for D. Appleton & Co., and dealer descriptions of this title cite the "1" on the last page as the first-printing point
• Binding: original red ribbed cloth stamped in black on the front cover and spine, with a map printed on the endpapers and a black-and-white frontispiece by W. H. D. Koerner; dealers collate it [6], 378, [2] pp
• The jacket carries a Koerner design and should be a priced jacket
• Copies with 1923 on the Appleton title page are later and are regularly mis-catalogued as firsts, so the title-page date and the last-page numeral must agree

How D. Appleton and Company marked a first edition

• Numerical identification in parentheses/brackets at the FOOT OF THE LAST PAGE of text: '(1)' = first printing, '(2)' = second, etc.
• May occasionally have used a 'First Edition' statement instead of the foot-of-last-page number.

Full D. Appleton and Company first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

US-only first in book form; no UK edition found that precedes. The first-thus trap is the serialization: the novel ran in The Saturday Evening Post beginning 1 April 1922 with Koerner illustrations, so the Appleton book is the first book appearance rather than the first appearance in print. Only the Appleton 1922 is collected as the first edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The standing trap is the Grosset & Dunlap photoplay reprint issued for the 1923 Paramount film directed by James Cruze: both the book and its jacket are illustrated with stills from the film in place of the Koerner frontispiece and jacket art, and the G&D imprint appears on the spine and title page. Any copy with film stills, or with a Grosset & Dunlap imprint, is a reprint regardless of the copyright date shown.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Covered Wagon a first edition?

A first edition of The Covered Wagon by Emerson Hough (D. Appleton and Company) is identified by: Census claim confirmed.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. US-only first in book form; no UK edition found that precedes.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

The standing trap is the Grosset & Dunlap photoplay reprint issued for the 1923 Paramount film directed by James Cruze: both the book and its jacket are illustrated with stills from the film in place of the Koerner frontispiece and jacket art, and the G&D imprint appears on the spine and title page. Any copy with film stills, or with a Grosset & Dunlap imprint, is a reprint regardless of the copyright date shown.

I have a first edition of The Covered Wagon — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.