Is My Copy of The Fighting Cheyennes a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first printing: Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1915
• The copyright page carries the Scribner seal together with the line "Published October, 1915" — this matches Scribner's documented pre-1930 house practice (seal plus month-and-year publication statement on first printings, later printings usually noted)
• Critically, the "A" code that identifies Scribner firsts dates only from 1930 and must NOT be looked for on this book; its absence is correct
• The Library of Congress deposit copy collates viii, 1 leaf, 431 pp., 23 cm, with three folding maps — a complete first must retain all three foldouts, plus the index
• Bound in publisher's cloth lettered in gilt and black on the spine; dealer descriptions of the cloth differ (brown cloth versus tan pictorial buckram), so colour/material is not a dependable printing point and should be checked against the copyright page instead
• No first-state text errors are documented in the sources consulted

How Charles Scribner's Sons marked a first edition

• Pre-1930: Scribner seal/device plus month-and-year of publication on copyright page; first printings either carry matching dates on title page and copyright page or show no later printings noted.

Full Charles Scribner's Sons 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?

Publisher and year stand, with the Scribner seal on the copyright page. US first; Scribner, New York, 1915. No British edition is documented in the sources consulted, so there is no UK/US precedence contest. The date usually given for the common Oklahoma reprint is wrong — see the reprint note below.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The common Oklahoma reprint is 1956, not 1955 — University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, in The Civilization of the American Indian Series, bound in orange cloth with navy decoration and lettering and a yellow topstain, with added plates of photographs and full-page drawings. It is a "first thus" and is routinely mislisted as a first edition (dealers cite it as Hand G237). Any University of Oklahoma Press imprint, series statement, or ISBN rules out the 1915 Scribner first. No book-club issue documented.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Fighting Cheyennes a first edition?

A first edition of The Fighting Cheyennes by George Bird Grinnell (Charles Scribner's Sons) is identified by: First edition, first printing: Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1915.

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. Publisher and year stand, with the Scribner seal on the copyright page.

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

The common Oklahoma reprint is 1956, not 1955 — University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, in The Civilization of the American Indian Series, bound in orange cloth with navy decoration and lettering and a yellow topstain, with added plates of photographs and full-page drawings. It is a "first thus" and is routinely mislisted as a first edition (dealers cite it as Hand G237). Any University of Oklahoma Press imprint, series statement, or ISBN rules out the 1915 Scribner first.

I have a first edition of The Fighting Cheyennes — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.