# Is "The Onion Field" by Joseph Wambaugh a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Onion Field by Joseph Wambaugh (Delacorte Press, 1973) is identified by: "First printing 1973" is stated on the copyright page of the true first; the book was published in September 1973. US Delacorte Press (New York, 1973) is the true first, and the census claim is confirmed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- "First printing 1973" is stated on the copyright page of the true first; the book was published in September 1973
- It collates 427 pages, bound in black boards lettered in gilt on the spine, with red and blue metallic rules running across the spine and front board
- The rear jacket panel carries a photograph of Wambaugh and a single endorsement — by Truman Capote, describing the book as a contribution to the nonfiction novel — with no other review matter
- Critically, this jacket design was carried unchanged through at least the fifth printing, so the jacket does NOT identify the printing on this title: the copyright-page statement is the only reliable test
- The jacket should be priced at the front flap (price present, not clipped)
- Publisher imprint reads Delacorte Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Joseph Wambaugh |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press |
| Year | 1973 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | "First printing 1973" is stated on the copyright page of the true first; the book was published in September 1973 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
"First printing 1973" is stated on the copyright page of the true first; the book was published in September 1973. It collates 427 pages, bound in black boards lettered in gilt on the spine, with red and blue metallic rules running across the spine and front board. The rear jacket panel carries a photograph of Wambaugh and a single endorsement — by Truman Capote, describing the book as a contribution to the nonfiction novel — with no other review matter. Critically, this jacket design was carried unchanged through at least the fifth printing, so the jacket does NOT identify the printing on this title: the copyright-page statement is the only reliable test. The jacket should be priced at the front flap (price present, not clipped).

## Is this the true first?
US Delacorte Press (New York, 1973) is the true first, and the census claim is confirmed. Note for cataloguing that this is Wambaugh's work of narrative nonfiction (true crime), not a novel. The first UK edition is Weidenfeld & Nicolson (London, 1974; ISBN 0-297-76734-8), a year later, separately collected as the first British edition. Dell, Delta, and later Orion/Quercus issues are reprints or first-thus, not firsts.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club-specific point for this title is documented in the sources consulted, and the identical jacket design across the first five printings means jacket appearance cannot be used as a club tell either. US club copies of Delacorte titles of this period are identified in the usual way — no price at the jacket flap and a blind-stamped square or dot on the rear board, with lighter bulk and lower-grade paper than the trade book.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Onion Field* by Joseph Wambaugh a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-onion-field
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.