# Is "The October Country" by Ray Bradbury a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The October Country by Ray Bradbury (Ballantine, 1955) is identified by: The 1955 Ballantine hardcover is the first edition; the probable earliest state of the trade binding (Currey binding B1) shows the publisher's monogram stamped upside down at the base of the spine, in red cloth with black spine lettering. The US Ballantine 1955 hardcover is the true first; the Ballantine mass-market paperback followed in 1956, not simultaneously.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The 1955 Ballantine hardcover is the first edition; the probable earliest state of the trade binding (Currey binding B1) shows the publisher's monogram stamped upside down at the base of the spine, in red cloth with black spine lettering
- The volume reprints fifteen of the twenty-seven stories from Dark Carnival and adds four others
- Publisher imprint reads Ballantine
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ray Bradbury |
| Publisher | Ballantine |
| Year | 1955 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The 1955 Ballantine hardcover is the first edition; the probable earliest state of the trade binding (Currey binding B1) shows the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The 1955 Ballantine hardcover is the first edition; the probable earliest state of the trade binding (Currey binding B1) shows the publisher's monogram stamped upside down at the base of the spine, in red cloth with black spine lettering. The volume reprints fifteen of the twenty-seven stories from Dark Carnival and adds four others.

## Is this the true first?
The US Ballantine 1955 hardcover is the true first; the Ballantine mass-market paperback followed in 1956, not simultaneously.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
There is no book club edition of note; later printings are distinguished by the corrected (right-side-up) spine monogram and other later-state markers.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The October Country* by Ray Bradbury a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-october-country
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.