# Is "The Golden Apples" by Eudora Welty a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Golden Apples by Eudora Welty (Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1949) is identified by: "first edition" stated on the copyright page; the linked story cycle set in Morgana, Mississippi. US first edition (Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1949) is the true first; the UK edition (The Bodley Head, London, 1950) follows.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- "first edition" stated on the copyright page; the linked story cycle set in Morgana, Mississippi
- Bound in quarter maroon cloth over green paper-covered boards, with a gilt decoration to the front board and gilt lettering to the spine
- Issued in the first-issue pictorial dust jacket, whose front flap carries the original printed price (present, not clipped, on a true first-issue example)
- Publisher imprint reads Harcourt, Brace and Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Eudora Welty |
| Publisher | Harcourt, Brace and Company |
| Year | 1949 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | "first edition" stated on the copyright page; the linked story cycle set in Morgana, Mississippi |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
"first edition" stated on the copyright page; the linked story cycle set in Morgana, Mississippi. Bound in quarter maroon cloth over green paper-covered boards, with a gilt decoration to the front board and gilt lettering to the spine. Issued in the first-issue pictorial dust jacket, whose front flap carries the original printed price (present, not clipped, on a true first-issue example).

## Is this the true first?
US first edition (Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1949) is the true first; the UK edition (The Bodley Head, London, 1950) follows.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints drop the "first edition" statement from the copyright page; confirm the Harcourt, Brace imprint and the stated first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Golden Apples* by Eudora Welty a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-golden-apples
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.