# Is "The Road Between" by James T. Farrell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Road Between by James T. Farrell (The Vanguard Press, 1949) is identified by: First printing, 1949; the second novel of the Bernard Carr trilogy (following Bernard Clare). US first edition, published by The Vanguard Press, New York, 1949.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing, 1949; the second novel of the Bernard Carr trilogy (following Bernard Clare)
- Octavo, 463 pages
- Bound in light orange boards lettered in black on the spine and front, with the top edge of the text block dyed black
- Issued in a pictorial dust jacket printed in white, red, and gray with black lettering; a first-issue jacket should retain the original printed price on the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads The Vanguard Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | James T. Farrell |
| Publisher | The Vanguard Press |
| Year | 1949 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing, 1949; the second novel of the Bernard Carr trilogy (following Bernard Clare) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing, 1949; the second novel of the Bernard Carr trilogy (following Bernard Clare). Octavo, 463 pages. Bound in light orange boards lettered in black on the spine and front, with the top edge of the text block dyed black. Issued in a pictorial dust jacket printed in white, red, and gray with black lettering; a first-issue jacket should retain the original printed price on the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
US first edition, published by The Vanguard Press, New York, 1949. No British precedence issue; the Vanguard printing is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Vanguard indicated subsequent printings on the copyright page; a true first printing carries no later-printing notice. Later reprints and any book-club issue differ in binding and jacket and lack the priced first-state jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Road Between* by James T. Farrell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-road-between
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.