# Is "The Message in the Bottle" by Walker Percy a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Message in the Bottle by Walker Percy (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1975) is identified by: "First printing, 1975" stated on the copyright page. US Farrar, Straus and Giroux first edition is the true first; first-thus collection of Percy's essays on language and semiotics (his first nonfiction book).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- "First printing, 1975" stated on the copyright page
- Bound in orange cloth boards with gilt spine titling; first printing has an UNstained top edge (the absence of a top stain is a supporting first-printing point)
- First-issue jacket priced 10.00
- Full title: How Queer Man Is, How Queer Language Is, and What One Has to Do with the Other
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Walker Percy |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 1975 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | "First printing, 1975" stated on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
"First printing, 1975" stated on the copyright page. Bound in orange cloth boards with gilt spine titling; first printing has an UNstained top edge (the absence of a top stain is a supporting first-printing point). First-issue jacket priced 10.00. Full title: How Queer Man Is, How Queer Language Is, and What One Has to Do with the Other.

## Is this the true first?
US Farrar, Straus and Giroux first edition is the true first; first-thus collection of Percy's essays on language and semiotics (his first nonfiction book).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Reprints carry later printing statements on the copyright page in place of "First printing, 1975"; verify the stated first-printing line together with the orange cloth and unstained top edge.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Message in the Bottle* by Walker Percy a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-message-in-the-bottle
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.