# Is "The Other" by Thomas Tryon a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Other by Thomas Tryon (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1971) is identified by: "FIRST EDITION" is stated on the copyright page (verso of the title leaf) — Knopf's house point, and it is removed on subsequent printings, which instead state the printing number and month (the second printing followed in June 1971, a third and further printings through the year, as the book held the New York Times best-seller list for more than six months). The US Alfred A.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- "FIRST EDITION" is stated on the copyright page (verso of the title leaf) — Knopf's house point, and it is removed on subsequent printings, which instead state the printing number and month (the second printing followed in June 1971, a third and further printings through the year, as the book held the New York Times best-seller list for more than six months)
- First printing was May 1971
- Bound in red cloth with foil-stamped lettering to the front board and spine and a black topstain; dealers consulted describe the stamping as silver to both board and spine, though one describes gilt to the front board with silver to the spine — the sources conflict on this single detail and it should not be used alone
- The dust jacket was designed by Paul Bacon (black lettering and vignette on a white ground) and should be present unclipped with the price at the flap
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Thomas Tryon |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf, New York |
| Year | 1971 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | "FIRST EDITION" is stated on the copyright page (verso of the title leaf) — Knopf's house point, and it is removed on subsequent printings… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
"FIRST EDITION" is stated on the copyright page (verso of the title leaf) — Knopf's house point, and it is removed on subsequent printings, which instead state the printing number and month (the second printing followed in June 1971, a third and further printings through the year, as the book held the New York Times best-seller list for more than six months). First printing was May 1971. Bound in red cloth with foil-stamped lettering to the front board and spine and a black topstain; dealers consulted describe the stamping as silver to both board and spine, though one describes gilt to the front board with silver to the spine — the sources conflict on this single detail and it should not be used alone. 280 pp. The dust jacket was designed by Paul Bacon (black lettering and vignette on a white ground) and should be present unclipped with the price at the flap.

## Is this the true first?
The US Alfred A. Knopf edition of May 1971 is the true first — Tryon's first novel, and with The Exorcist a founding book of the 1970s horror boom. A first British edition was published by Jonathan Cape, London, also in 1971 (brown boards with gilt-lettered backstrip, 280 pp., carrying the same Paul Bacon jacket illustration); it is collected in its own right, but Knopf holds precedence. Where both are offered, name the Knopf as the true first and the Cape as the first British edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club copies are identified by a small blind-stamped dot to the rear board and a dust jacket with no price at the flap; one dealer records the August 1971 fifth printing having been used as the book-club issue. Because the club jacket carries the same Paul Bacon artwork, the rear-board dot and the unpriced flap are the tells — together with the absence of the "FIRST EDITION" statement on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Other* by Thomas Tryon a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-other
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.