# Is "The Devil Tree" by Jerzy Kosinski a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Devil Tree by Jerzy Kosinski (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973) is identified by: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1973; first edition so stated on the copyright page, in the priced dust jacket. The true first is the 1973 Harcourt Brace Jovanovich edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1973; first edition so stated on the copyright page, in the priced dust jacket
- Quarter-bound in black cloth with green paper-covered boards and silver titling to the spine; approximately 208 pages
- This is the original 1973 text; a substantially revised and expanded edition was later issued by St
- Martin's Press in 1981
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jerzy Kosinski |
| Publisher | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |
| Year | 1973 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1973; first edition so stated on the copyright page, in the priced dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1973; first edition so stated on the copyright page, in the priced dust jacket. Quarter-bound in black cloth with green paper-covered boards and silver titling to the spine; approximately 208 pages. This is the original 1973 text; a substantially revised and expanded edition was later issued by St. Martin's Press in 1981.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the 1973 Harcourt Brace Jovanovich edition. The 1981 St. Martin's revised and expanded edition is a 'first thus,' not the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club copies are blind-stamped to the rear board and lack the printed jacket price; the trade first carries the stated first-edition line and the intact price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Devil Tree* by Jerzy Kosinski a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-devil-tree
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.