# Is "The Fields" by Conrad Richter a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Fields by Conrad Richter (Alfred A. Knopf, 1946) is identified by: First printings state "FIRST EDITION" on the copyright page, consistent with Knopf's practice from about 1933-34 onward; the Borzoi device and the "This is a Borzoi Book" line are house furniture on all Knopf titles and are not first-printing points. US-only first: Alfred A.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printings state "FIRST EDITION" on the copyright page, consistent with Knopf's practice from about 1933-34 onward; the Borzoi device and the "This is a Borzoi Book" line are house furniture on all Knopf titles and are not first-printing points
- The decisive trap on this title is Knopf's before-publication printings: copies whose copyright page records a second printing before publication are SECOND printings despite carrying the same 1946 date, and dealers catalog such copies verbatim as "stated second printing before publication, 1946" — reference guides confirm that a "First and second printings before publication" line means a second printing
- Collation is viii plus 288 pages, with typography and binding designed by W. A. Dwiggins; deckle edges are reported
- The pictorial jacket carries the price at the flap and unclipped copies retain it
- Dealer descriptions of the cloth conflict sharply (brown stamped in burnt red and maroon, orange, tan-and-brown, gold), so cloth color is NOT a reliable point on this title
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Conrad Richter |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 1946 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printings state "FIRST EDITION" on the copyright page, consistent with Knopf's practice from about 1933-34 onward; the Borzoi device… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printings state "FIRST EDITION" on the copyright page, consistent with Knopf's practice from about 1933-34 onward; the Borzoi device and the "This is a Borzoi Book" line are house furniture on all Knopf titles and are not first-printing points. The decisive trap on this title is Knopf's before-publication printings: copies whose copyright page records a second printing before publication are SECOND printings despite carrying the same 1946 date, and dealers catalog such copies verbatim as "stated second printing before publication, 1946" — reference guides confirm that a "First and second printings before publication" line means a second printing. Collation is viii plus 288 pages, with typography and binding designed by W. A. Dwiggins; deckle edges are reported. The pictorial jacket carries the price at the flap and unclipped copies retain it. Dealer descriptions of the cloth conflict sharply (brown stamped in burnt red and maroon, orange, tan-and-brown, gold), so cloth color is NOT a reliable point on this title.

## Is this the true first?
US-only first: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, published 28 March 1946 — the census claim of a Knopf first is confirmed, and no UK edition precedes it in the records consulted (the Transworld British paperback dates only to 1958). Written in English, so no original-language precedence question arises. The census description is accurate: this is the middle volume of the Awakening Land trilogy, standing between The Trees (Knopf, 1940) and The Town (Knopf, 1950).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The main "first thus" trap is the omnibus: The Awakening Land, collecting all three novels in one volume, was first issued by Knopf in September 1966 and is not a first of The Fields. The likeliest misidentification, however, is the before-publication second printing described above, which shares the 1946 date and the Knopf imprint and is distinguished only by the copyright-page wording. No Knopf book-club edition of this title is documented in the sources consulted.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Fields* by Conrad Richter a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-fields
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.