# Is "The Horse Knows the Way" by John O'Hara a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Horse Knows the Way by John O'Hara (Random House, 1964) is identified by: Collection of stories. United States Random House edition (1964) is the true first; the Cresset Press London edition followed in 1965.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first (trade issue) carries FIRST PRINTING on the copyright page; later printings carry a printing history instead
- Bound in cloth with silver spine lettering and a blue topstain; first-issue jacket unclipped with the printed price present on the flap
- A separate signed limited issue of 250 numbered copies, specially bound and printed on special paper, was published simultaneously
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John O'Hara |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 1964 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first (trade issue) carries FIRST PRINTING on the copyright page; later printings carry a printing history instead |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Collection of stories. The true first (trade issue) carries FIRST PRINTING on the copyright page; later printings carry a printing history instead. Bound in cloth with silver spine lettering and a blue topstain; first-issue jacket unclipped with the printed price present on the flap. A separate signed limited issue of 250 numbered copies, specially bound and printed on special paper, was published simultaneously.

## Is this the true first?
United States Random House edition (1964) is the true first; the Cresset Press London edition followed in 1965. Note the distinct signed/numbered limited issue of 250 copies alongside the trade first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Random House printings are indicated by a revised printing statement on the copyright page rather than the FIRST PRINTING line; book-club copies lack the FIRST PRINTING statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Horse Knows the Way* by John O'Hara a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-horse-knows-the-way
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.