# Is "The Marble Faun" by William Faulkner a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Marble Faun by William Faulkner (The Four Seas Company, Boston, 1924) is identified by: Faulkner's first book, a poetry collection with a preface by Phil Stone. True first appearance of Faulkner in book form.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Faulkner's first book, a poetry collection with a preface by Phil Stone
- Issued in paper-covered (marbled/mottled) boards with printed paper labels on the front cover and spine, in a glassine and a green-printed dust wrapper
- Edition of about 500 copies
- Copyright page carries the 'Published, December, 1924' statement and the Four Seas imprint; publication was fixed at December 15, 1924
- Publisher imprint reads The Four Seas Company, Boston
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Faulkner |
| Publisher | The Four Seas Company, Boston |
| Year | 1924 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Faulkner's first book, a poetry collection with a preface by Phil Stone |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Faulkner's first book, a poetry collection with a preface by Phil Stone. Issued in paper-covered (marbled/mottled) boards with printed paper labels on the front cover and spine, in a glassine and a green-printed dust wrapper. Edition of about 500 copies. Copyright page carries the 'Published, December, 1924' statement and the Four Seas imprint; publication was fixed at December 15, 1924.

## Is this the true first?
True first appearance of Faulkner in book form. No UK precedence.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. Beware later facsimiles; genuine copies are the 1924 Four Seas issue with the printed paper labels and original wrappers. Survival is low.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Marble Faun* by William Faulkner a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-marble-faun
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.