# Is "The Day of the Locust" by Nathanael West a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West (Random House, New York, 1939) is identified by: True first: Random House, New York, published 16 May 1939, 238 pp., octavo. CENSUS CLAIM CONFIRMED.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first: Random House, New York, published 16 May 1939, 238 pp., octavo
- The first printing is identified by the words 'First Printing' stated on the copyright page — this is the controlling point and is present on the trade first
- Bound in red cloth boards with a printed title label to the spine, with a dark topstain
- Manufactured by H. Wolff, New York
- The first-issue dust jacket has the price present at the front flap
- The novel sold only about 1,480 copies, and West died the following year, so first printings in original jacket are scarce; jackets are commonly found with spine fading, staining and old tape repairs to the verso
- Publisher imprint reads Random House, New York

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Nathanael West |
| Publisher | Random House, New York |
| Year | 1939 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first: Random House, New York, published 16 May 1939, 238 pp., octavo |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first: Random House, New York, published 16 May 1939, 238 pp., octavo. The first printing is identified by the words 'First Printing' stated on the copyright page — this is the controlling point and is present on the trade first. Bound in red cloth boards with a printed title label to the spine, with a dark topstain. Manufactured by H. Wolff, New York. The first-issue dust jacket has the price present at the front flap. The novel sold only about 1,480 copies, and West died the following year, so first printings in original jacket are scarce; jackets are commonly found with spine fading, staining and old tape repairs to the verso.

## Is this the true first?
CENSUS CLAIM CONFIRMED. US Random House (New York, 1939) is the true first. The first English edition is Grey Walls Press, London, 1951 — 207 pp. plus blank, publisher's dark blue cloth lettered in gilt at the spine, issued in dust jacket — published eleven years after the American first and after West's death. Both editions are collected and both should be named. The census's framing of this title as completing the West canon alongside Miss Lonelyhearts is a collecting observation, not a bibliographic point.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
DOCUMENTED TRAP. Book-club copies of The Day of the Locust are found in an illustrated book-club dust jacket with NO price present at the flap. Because club copies can be jacketed over, or confused with, trade sheets, the jacket alone is not decisive in either direction: a first-printing book is frequently offered in a club jacket, and dealers list such copies openly. Verify the 'First Printing' statement on the copyright page for the book, and separately verify that the price is present at the flap for the jacket — an unpriced illustrated jacket indicates the club jacket regardless of the book it wraps.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Day of the Locust* by Nathanael West a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-day-of-the-locust
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.