# Is "The Maverick Queen" by Zane Grey a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Maverick Queen by Zane Grey (Harper & Brothers, 1950) is identified by: Harper & Brothers first edition, first printing: 'FIRST EDITION' stated on the copyright page with the Harper letter code D-Z (D = April month of printing, Z = 1950 year) in small type at the foot of the copyright page. True first US edition, Harper & Brothers, 1950; posthumously published.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Harper & Brothers first edition, first printing: 'FIRST EDITION' stated on the copyright page with the Harper letter code D-Z (D = April month of printing, Z = 1950 year) in small type at the foot of the copyright page
- Blue cloth
- Issued in a pictorial dust jacket
- Posthumous (Grey died 1939)
- A Grosset & Dunlap reprint edition followed and is common; it is not the first
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Brothers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Zane Grey |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers |
| Year | 1950 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Harper & Brothers first edition, first printing: 'FIRST EDITION' stated on the copyright… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Harper & Brothers first edition, first printing: 'FIRST EDITION' stated on the copyright page with the Harper letter code D-Z (D = April month of printing, Z = 1950 year) in small type at the foot of the copyright page. Blue cloth. Issued in a pictorial dust jacket. Posthumous (Grey died 1939). A Grosset & Dunlap reprint edition followed and is common; it is not the first.

## Is this the true first?
True first US edition, Harper & Brothers, 1950; posthumously published.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The record's code 'Y-Y' is incorrect. In Harper's month-year code the FIRST letter is the month and the SECOND is the year, and 1950 is coded Z, not Y (Y = 1949 in the post-1937 cycle). The verified first-printing code is D-Z. Distinguish the true Harper first from the later Grosset & Dunlap reprint.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Maverick Queen* by Zane Grey a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-maverick-queen
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.