Is My The Lottery; or, The Adventures of James Harris a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printings carry the publisher's stylised "fs" colophon on the copyright page — its absence rules a copy out
• The book collates [viii], 306 pp., octavo, bound in grey cloth with the spine lettered in red (a minority of dealers describe the cloth as beige rather than grey; the sources consulted otherwise agree)
• The first-issue dust jacket has the price present at the flap and gives the publisher's address as 53 East 34th Street, New York, on the rear panel; a second-issue jacket shows a Fifth Avenue address and a raised price, and is the single most common way a later copy is passed off
• Beware the title itself: the 1949 first edition is titled The Lottery; or, The Adventures of James Harris, and any copy titled The Lottery and Other Stories is a later retitled reprint, not the first

How Farrar, Straus and Company, New York marked a first edition

• ERA 1 - Farrar, Straus and Company (founding, c.1945/46-1950): No number line and no consistent 'First Edition' statement. Identify a first printing by the stylized interlocked 'FS' publisher's device on the copyright pa…

Full Farrar, Straus and Company, New York 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?

The US Farrar, Straus and Company edition of 1949 is the true first. The first British edition followed from Victor Gollancz, London, in 1950, retaining Jackson's original title; both are collected but Farrar, Straus holds precedence. The familiar The Lottery and Other Stories is a later re-titling and is a "first thus" trap only — never a true first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The practical reprint tells are the absence of the "fs" colophon on the copyright page and the second-issue jacket bearing a Fifth Avenue address with a raised price in place of the 53 East 34th Street address.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Lottery; or, The Adventures of James Harris a first edition?

A first edition of The Lottery; or, The Adventures of James Harris by Shirley Jackson (Farrar, Straus and Company, New York) is identified by: First printings carry the publisher's stylised "fs" colophon on the copyright page — its absence rules a copy out.

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 US Farrar, Straus and Company edition of 1949 is the true first.

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

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The practical reprint tells are the absence of the "fs" colophon on the copyright page and the second-issue jacket bearing a Fifth Avenue address with a raised price in place of the 53 East 34th Street address.

I have a first edition of The Lottery; or, The Adventures of James Harris — 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.