# Is "The Field of Vision" by Wright Morris a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Field of Vision by Wright Morris (Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1956) is identified by: Harcourt, Brace & Company first edition, 1956. The US Harcourt, Brace edition is the true first; the UK Weidenfeld & Nicolson edition follows.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Harcourt, Brace & Company first edition, 1956
- Charcoal/black cloth lettered in silver
- Harry Ford-designed dust jacket bearing a bullfight photograph by Morris and the original printed flap price; 'first edition' stated on the copyright page
- Winner of the 1957 National Book Award for Fiction
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt, Brace & Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Wright Morris |
| Publisher | Harcourt, Brace & Company |
| Year | 1956 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Harcourt, Brace & Company first edition, 1956 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Harcourt, Brace & Company first edition, 1956. Charcoal/black cloth lettered in silver; Harry Ford-designed dust jacket bearing a bullfight photograph by Morris and the original printed flap price; 'first edition' stated on the copyright page. Winner of the 1957 National Book Award for Fiction.

## Is this the true first?
The US Harcourt, Brace edition is the true first; the UK Weidenfeld & Nicolson edition follows.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The trade first carries the stated first and the original priced first-issue jacket. The later Signet mass-market paperback is a reprint, not the first; club and reprint copies lack the original priced jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Field of Vision* by Wright Morris a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-field-of-vision
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.