# Is "The Professor's House" by Willa Cather a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Professor's House by Willa Cather (Alfred A. Knopf, 1925) is identified by: The signed limited edition comprises 225 copies signed by Cather, of which 40 are bound in Imperial Japan vellum (gilt, slipcased) and the remainder on Borzoi all-rag paper. The Knopf 1925 signed limited edition is the most desirable first state; the trade first follows.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Two issues
- The signed limited edition comprises 225 copies signed by Cather, of which 40 are bound in Imperial Japan vellum (gilt, slipcased) and the remainder on Borzoi all-rag paper
- The first trade issue is bound in orange linen cloth with a blue cloth spine and orange top stain, carries the Knopf imprint and Borzoi colophon, and has no later-printing statement
- Published September 4, 1925
- Cather's Southwest-infused novel containing 'Tom Outland's Story' set on the mesa
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Willa Cather |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 1925 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Two issues |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Two issues. The signed limited edition comprises 225 copies signed by Cather, of which 40 are bound in Imperial Japan vellum (gilt, slipcased) and the remainder on Borzoi all-rag paper. The first trade issue is bound in orange linen cloth with a blue cloth spine and orange top stain, carries the Knopf imprint and Borzoi colophon, and has no later-printing statement. Published September 4, 1925. Cather's Southwest-infused novel containing 'Tom Outland's Story' set on the mesa.

## Is this the true first?
The Knopf 1925 signed limited edition is the most desirable first state; the trade first follows. The UK (Heinemann) edition is a separate first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The limited edition is identified by the numbered, signed limitation leaf (and Japan vellum binding on the 40 deluxe copies); the trade first by the Knopf imprint and Borzoi colophon without later-printing statements. There is no mass book-club issue of the 1925 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Professor's House* by Willa Cather a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-professors-house
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.