Is My The Joy of Cooking (first trade edition) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Expanded Bobbs-Merrill edition of roughly 628 pages; first printing of 10,000 copies, released May 1, 1936
• The copyright page reads 'Copyright 1931, 1936' with NO printing line and no printing number — later printings ADD a notation (e.g. a '4th' or '5th Printing' line), so the ABSENCE of any printing statement is the primary first-printing tell
• No 'First Edition' slug is used on this title
• Bound in yellow/orange plaid (basket-weave) cloth titled in brown; a blue basket-weave binding indicates a later 1938-39 printing, not the first
• Jacket art (St
• Martha of Bethany subduing the tarasque — a symbol of kitchen drudgery) and interior illustrations by Irma's daughter, Marion Rombauer Becker

How The Bobbs-Merrill Company marked a first edition

• From 1936: firsts state 'First Edition' OR 'First Printing' on the copyright page, and the publisher became markedly more consistent (a statement is generally expected on a true first from this point on).

Full The Bobbs-Merrill Company 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?

This is the first Bobbs-Merrill (trade) edition and the earliest widely available form, but it is subordinate in precedence to the true first: the 1931 privately printed edition (printed by A. C. Clayton Printing Co., St. Louis; about 3,000 copies; blue pebbled cloth, gilt-lettered; 395 pp; full title 'The Joy of Cooking: A Compilation of Reliable Recipes with a Casual Culinary Chat'). First state of the 1936 is established by the higher first-state flap price together with the absence of any later-printing notation on the copyright page.P-036793

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Because this title bears no 'First Edition' statement, rely on the 'Copyright 1931, 1936' string plus the absence of a printing line; later Bobbs-Merrill printings ADD a printing notation and carry their own (often different) flap prices, so price alone is not decisive for later states. Beware the 1998 Scribner 'Joy of Cooking 1931 Facsimile Edition' (ISBN 9780684833583, ~448 pp, with an added foreword by Edgar Rombauer): it reproduces the 1931 private first but is plainly identified by its modern ISBN, 1998 copyright, and Scribner imprint. Numerous mid-century Bobbs-Merrill reprints also exist.P-036794

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Joy of Cooking (first trade edition) a first edition?

A first edition of The Joy of Cooking (first trade edition) by Irma S. Rombauer (The Bobbs-Merrill Company) is identified by: Expanded Bobbs-Merrill edition of roughly 628 pages; first printing of 10,000 copies, released May 1, 1936.

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. This is the first Bobbs-Merrill (trade) edition and the earliest widely available form, but it is subordinate in precedence to the true first: the 1931 privately printed edition (printed by A.

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

Because this title bears no 'First Edition' statement, rely on the 'Copyright 1931, 1936' string plus the absence of a printing line; later Bobbs-Merrill printings ADD a printing notation and carry their own (often different) flap prices, so price alone is not decisive for later states. Beware the 1998 Scribner 'Joy of Cooking 1931 Facsimile Edition' (ISBN 9780684833583, ~448 pp, with an added foreword by Edgar Rombauer): it reproduces the 1931 private first but is plainly identified by its mode

I have a first edition of The Joy of Cooking (first trade edition) — 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.