Is My The Mansion a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The trade first printing states "First Printing" on the copyright page
• Bound in blue (variously described as blue-green or teal) coarsely woven cloth, the upper cover and spine ruled in grey and lettered in gold, with a yellow top stain and blue endpapers
• 8vo, [12], 436 pp
• The first-state pictorial jacket carries the publisher's code "10/59" at the foot of the front flap, the price present at the flap, no review quotations, and Ralph R. Thompson's photograph of Faulkner on the back panel
• Petersen A52.2b
• Man Working 141

How Random House, New York marked a first edition

• Stated-edition era (c.1936–1975): trade first printings are plainly marked with the words 'First Edition' (or, on some earlier titles, 'First Printing') on the copyright page, with NO number line yet in use; a copyright…
• Divisional practice — share the STATEMENT, not the '2'-line: sister divisions state 'First Edition' as their firsts (Alfred A. Knopf consistently since 1933–34; Pantheon since 1964), so the words work across the family.…

Full Random House, 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?

US Random House, New York, 1959 is the true first of this text — the closing volume of the Snopes trilogy, after The Hamlet (1940) and The Town (1957). The first English edition followed from Chatto & Windus (London) in 1961, two years later, in red cloth lettered in gilt and set to 399 pp.; it has no precedence claim and is collected only as the first English edition. Within the Random House publication two issues are collected: the 500-copy signed limited and the trade first printing, the latter being the standard collector's copy in jacket. The census claim (US Random House 1959 first, UK Chatto & Windus 1961) is confirmed as stated.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No club binding specific to this title is documented in the sources consulted, so no club-specific tells are asserted here. The decisive tests remain the copyright-page "First Printing" line and the "10/59" code at the foot of the front flap — a jacket without the code, or a copyright page without the line, is not the trade first printing. The 500-copy signed limited is a publisher's issue rather than a reprint, and correctly carries no printed jacket.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Mansion a first edition?

A first edition of The Mansion by William Faulkner (Random House, New York) is identified by: The trade first printing states "First Printing" on the copyright page.

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 Random House, New York, 1959 is the true first of this text — the closing volume of the Snopes trilogy, after The Hamlet (1940) and The Town (1957).

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

No club binding specific to this title is documented in the sources consulted, so no club-specific tells are asserted here. The decisive tests remain the copyright-page "First Printing" line and the "10/59" code at the foot of the front flap — a jacket without the code, or a copyright page without the line, is not the trade first printing. The 500-copy signed limited is a publisher's issue rather than a reprint, and correctly carries no printed jacket.

I have a first edition of The Mansion — 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.