# Is "The Octopus: A Story of California" by Frank Norris a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Octopus: A Story of California by Frank Norris (Doubleday, Page, 1901) is identified by: First edition, first state published by Doubleday, Page & Co., New York, 1901 (BAL 15036; McElrath A6.I.a). US precedes UK: Doubleday, Page (New York), 1901 is the true first; Grant Richards issued the London edition later in 1901 (September), and a Tauchnitz continental edition also followed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first state published by Doubleday, Page & Co., New York, 1901 (BAL 15036
- McElrath A6.I.a)
- The defining first-state point is on p
- 526, where a line is accidentally repeated — line 31 recurs as line 35, 'prolonged, rasping sound of breathing, half choked' — with the leaf integral/uncanceled; later states correct or cancel this
- The copyright page bears the J. J. Little & Co. printer's device, and McElrath's first binding shows the spine imprint in sans-serif lettering rather than the later 'modified gothic.' First volume of Norris's projected 'Epic of the Wheat' trilogy
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday, Page
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Frank Norris |
| Publisher | Doubleday, Page |
| Year | 1901 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first state published by Doubleday, Page & Co., New York, 1901 (BAL 15036 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, first state published by Doubleday, Page & Co., New York, 1901 (BAL 15036; McElrath A6.I.a). The defining first-state point is on p. 526, where a line is accidentally repeated — line 31 recurs as line 35, 'prolonged, rasping sound of breathing, half choked' — with the leaf integral/uncanceled; later states correct or cancel this. The copyright page bears the J. J. Little & Co. printer's device, and McElrath's first binding shows the spine imprint in sans-serif lettering rather than the later 'modified gothic.' First volume of Norris's projected 'Epic of the Wheat' trilogy.

## Is this the true first?
US precedes UK: Doubleday, Page (New York), 1901 is the true first; Grant Richards issued the London edition later in 1901 (September), and a Tauchnitz continental edition also followed. The American Doubleday, Page printing is the collected first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Beware later Doubleday reprints from the same setting and the 1901 second state with the p. 526 line corrected or the leaf cancelled; only the integral, uncorrected p. 526 leaf paired with the sans-serif spine imprint is the true first state.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Octopus: A Story of California* by Frank Norris a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-octopus-a-story-of-california
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.