# Is "The Naked and the Dead" by Norman Mailer a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer (Rinehart & Company, 1948) is identified by: First printing carries the Rinehart device (the script 'R' in a circle/colophon) on the copyright page with no statement of a later printing. US Rinehart is the true first, preceding the UK Allan Wingate edition of 1949, which was textually censored, making the US edition the textually preferred true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Mailer's first book
- First printing carries the Rinehart device (the script 'R' in a circle/colophon) on the copyright page with no statement of a later printing
- Black cloth, 721 pp
- First-issue jacket carries the printed price, Stanley Rinehart's 'A Word from the Publisher' running across the flaps, and a photo of the young Mailer on the rear panel; the more common later jacket replaces this with review blurbs
- Publisher imprint reads Rinehart & Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Norman Mailer |
| Publisher | Rinehart & Company |
| Year | 1948 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Mailer's first book |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Mailer's first book. First printing carries the Rinehart device (the script 'R' in a circle/colophon) on the copyright page with no statement of a later printing. Black cloth, 721 pp. First-issue jacket carries the printed price, Stanley Rinehart's 'A Word from the Publisher' running across the flaps, and a photo of the young Mailer on the rear panel; the more common later jacket replaces this with review blurbs.

## Is this the true first?
US Rinehart is the true first, preceding the UK Allan Wingate edition of 1949, which was textually censored, making the US edition the textually preferred true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club issue is typically blind-stamped (small dot/stamp) on the rear board, uses cheaper boards, and comes in an unpriced jacket; it lacks the first-issue jacket points.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Naked and the Dead* by Norman Mailer a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-naked-and-the-dead
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.