# Is "The High Graders" by Louis L'Amour a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The High Graders by Louis L'Amour (Bantam Books, 1965) is identified by: Bantam Books mass-market paperback original, 1965. True first US edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Bantam Books mass-market paperback original, 1965
- No prior hardcover or serial edition exists; the Bantam paperback printing is the first appearance in book form
- The first printing shows the Bantam publication statement on the copyright page with no later-printing notation and none of the additional printing dates that Bantam added to the copyright page of subsequent reprints
- Later Bantam mass-market reissues and the leatherette Louis L'Amour Collection hardcover came much later and are readily distinguished by their reset copyright pages and later cover art
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Louis L'Amour |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
| Year | 1965 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Bantam Books mass-market paperback original, 1965 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Bantam Books mass-market paperback original, 1965. No prior hardcover or serial edition exists; the Bantam paperback printing is the first appearance in book form. The first printing shows the Bantam publication statement on the copyright page with no later-printing notation and none of the additional printing dates that Bantam added to the copyright page of subsequent reprints. Later Bantam mass-market reissues and the leatherette Louis L'Amour Collection hardcover came much later and are readily distinguished by their reset copyright pages and later cover art.

## Is this the true first?
True first US edition. Issued as a Bantam paperback original with no earlier hardcover; the later leatherette Louis L'Amour Collection hardcover is a much later reprint.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not applicable; as a paperback original, no book-club edition precedes the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The High Graders* by Louis L'Amour a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-high-graders
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.