# Is "The Immense Journey" by Loren Eiseley a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Immense Journey by Loren Eiseley (Random House, 1957) is identified by: Quarter-cloth over boards, octavo, 210 pp. The actual book is The Immense Journey by Loren Eiseley.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Quarter-cloth over boards, octavo, 210 pp
- The copyright page states First Printing with the Random House colophon (torchbearer)
- The first-state jacket is priced on the front flap; a well-preserved example shows the color titling intact
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Loren Eiseley |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 1957 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Quarter-cloth over boards, octavo, 210 pp |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Quarter-cloth over boards, octavo, 210 pp. The copyright page states First Printing with the Random House colophon (torchbearer). The first-state jacket is priced on the front flap; a well-preserved example shows the color titling intact.

## Is this the true first?
The actual book is The Immense Journey by Loren Eiseley. US Random House (New York, 1957) is the true first edition. Eiseley's classic essay collection.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club issue lacks a jacket price and the First Printing statement and may show a blind-stamp on the rear board.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Immense Journey* by Loren Eiseley a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-immense-journey
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.