# Is "The Heritage of the Desert" by Zane Grey a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Heritage of the Desert by Zane Grey (Harper & Brothers, 1910) is identified by: Grey's first commercially successful Western. The US Harper first is the true first and predates Riders of the Purple Sage; it is the novel that launched Grey's career.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Grey's first commercially successful Western
- Harper & Brothers, 1910
- The first edition has 1910 on the title page and 'Published September, 1910' on the copyright page (this predates Harper's letter-code system, so no code letter)
- It includes a black-and-white frontispiece, 'Hare Rode with Mescal,' protected by a tissue guard
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Brothers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Zane Grey |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers |
| Year | 1910 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Grey's first commercially successful Western |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Grey's first commercially successful Western. Harper & Brothers, 1910. The first edition has 1910 on the title page and 'Published September, 1910' on the copyright page (this predates Harper's letter-code system, so no code letter). It includes a black-and-white frontispiece, 'Hare Rode with Mescal,' protected by a tissue guard.

## Is this the true first?
The US Harper first is the true first and predates Riders of the Purple Sage; it is the novel that launched Grey's career.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Grosset & Dunlap reprints (with later-title ads and photoplay jackets) are far more common; the true first is the Harper edition with the 1910 title page and the 'Published September, 1910' copyright line and no reprint-publisher imprint.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Heritage of the Desert* by Zane Grey a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-heritage-of-the-desert
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.