Is My The House at Otowi Bridge a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first edition of The House at Otowi Bridge by Peggy Pond Church is the 1959 University of New Mexico Press hardcover (Albuquerque), carrying the full subtitle The Story of Edith Warner and Los Alamos and illustrated with twenty pen-and-ink drawings by Connie Fox Boyd
• The first printing bears the 1959 date on the title page and verso; a second printing dated 1960 followed, and dealers not infrequently catalogue that 1960 second printing as a first edition, so the collector should confirm the 1959 date rather than rely on a 'first edition' notation alone
• Issued in cloth boards in a pictorial dust jacket; the jacket should retain its printed price and be present, since the text block alone is common
• The book recounts Edith Warner's tea house near the Otowi crossing of the Rio Grande during the Los Alamos years

How UNM Press marked a first edition

• Negative-evidence (no later-printing language) on pre-1970 titles

Full UNM Press 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. 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.
5. 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?

The 1959 UNM Press hardcover is the true first; the 1960 UNM Press printing is a second printing of the same setting, and the long-running Zia Books paperback (ISBN 0-8263-0281-5) is a later reissue. Confirm the 1959 title-page date to distinguish the first printing from the 1960 second printing.P-024355

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club editions and later printings reprint the text but are not the first edition and are far less collectible. When a hardcover and a simultaneous paperback exist (standard from the mid-1970s), the hardcover in dust jacket is the collector's first. Use the points above to be certain — see book-club edition vs. first edition.P-024356

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The House at Otowi Bridge a first edition?

A first edition of The House at Otowi Bridge by Peggy Pond Church (UNM Press) is identified by: The true first edition of The House at Otowi Bridge by Peggy Pond Church is the 1959 University of New Mexico Press hardcover (Albuquerque), carrying the full subtitle The Story of Edith Warner and Los Alamos and illustrated with twenty pen-and-ink drawings by Connie Fox Boyd.

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. The 1959 UNM Press hardcover is the true first; the 1960 UNM Press printing is a second printing of the same setting, and the long-running Zia Books paperback (ISBN 0-8263-0281-5) is a later reissue.

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

Book-club editions and later printings reprint the text but are not the first edition and are far less collectible. When a hardcover and a simultaneous paperback exist (standard from the mid-1970s), the hardcover in dust jacket is the collector's first. Use the points above to be certain — see book-club edition vs. first edition.

I have a first edition of The House at Otowi Bridge — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

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.