Is My The Hunters a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first edition: Harper & Brothers, New York — dated 1956 on the title page, NOT 1957 (the census year is incorrect
• 1957 is the UK Heinemann edition)
• Salter's first book, a Korean-War fighter-pilot novel, 233 pp
• The first printing is identified by the Harper code 'M-E' on the copyright page — under Harper's letter system M = December and E = 1955, i.e. printed December 1955 ahead of the 1956 publication — with no later code present
• Binding is blue cloth boards with a black cloth spine, a red Harper seal blocked at the lower front cover and red lettering on the spine; jacket designed by Bill English

How Harper & Brothers marked a first edition

• From 1922: also began printing 'First Edition' on the copyright page in addition to the code.
• Letter code discontinued after 1949; later Harper & Row used standard statements/number lines.

Full Harper & Brothers 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. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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?

US Harper & Brothers (New York), 1956 is the true first — this CORRECTS the census's '1957.' UK first: William Heinemann, London, 1957 (published 20 May 1957, jacket by Mudge Marriott). Separately, the 1997 Counterpoint (Washington, DC) edition is a REVISED text — Salter changed the protagonist's surname from Cleve Saville to Cleve Connell and corrected errors — so it is 'first thus,' not a reprint of the 1956 text (this part of the census note is correct).

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition noted. First-thus trap: the author-revised 1997 Counterpoint edition (and its Vintage paperback) is a materially different text and must not be conflated with the 1956 Harper first printing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Hunters a first edition?

A first edition of The Hunters by James Salter (Harper & Brothers) is identified by: True first edition: Harper & Brothers, New York — dated 1956 on the title page, NOT 1957 (the census year is incorrect; 1957 is the UK Heinemann edition).

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. US Harper & Brothers (New York), 1956 is the true first — this CORRECTS the census's '1957.' UK first: William Heinemann, London, 1957 (published 20 May 1957, jacket by Mudge Marriott).

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

No book-club edition noted. First-thus trap: the author-revised 1997 Counterpoint edition (and its Vintage paperback) is a materially different text and must not be conflated with the 1956 Harper first printing.

I have a first edition of The Hunters — 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.