# Is "The Price of Salt" by Patricia Highsmith (as Claire Morgan) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith (as Claire Morgan) (Coward-McCann, 1952) is identified by: Published under the pseudonym 'Claire Morgan.' Issued in a single Coward-McCann hardcover printing in 1952: quarter black cloth over green boards with red stamping; no later-printing statement; first-issue jacket carries the printed price. US Coward-McCann hardcover (1952, as Claire Morgan) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Published under the pseudonym 'Claire Morgan.' Issued in a single Coward-McCann hardcover printing in 1952: quarter black cloth over green boards with red stamping; no later-printing statement; first-issue jacket carries the printed price
- Later reissued as 'Carol.'
- Publisher imprint reads Coward-McCann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Patricia Highsmith (as Claire Morgan) |
| Publisher | Coward-McCann |
| Year | 1952 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Published under the pseudonym 'Claire Morgan.' Issued in a single Coward-McCann hardcover printing in 1952: quarter black cloth over green… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Published under the pseudonym 'Claire Morgan.' Issued in a single Coward-McCann hardcover printing in 1952: quarter black cloth over green boards with red stamping; no later-printing statement; first-issue jacket carries the printed price. Later reissued as 'Carol.'

## Is this the true first?
US Coward-McCann hardcover (1952, as Claire Morgan) is the true first. The Bantam paperback (1953) is a later printing, and the 'Carol'-titled editions are much later.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The 1953 Bantam paperback is frequently mistaken for the first; it is a reprint. No hardcover book-club edition of note.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Price of Salt* by Patricia Highsmith (as Claire Morgan) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-price-of-salt
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.