# Is "The Robber Bridegroom" by Eudora Welty a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Robber Bridegroom by Eudora Welty (Doubleday, Doran & Company, 1942) is identified by: 'FIRST EDITION' stated on the copyright page; Doubleday, Doran imprint; original blue cloth stamped in white and pink; first-issue dust jacket retaining its original price. US Doubleday, Doran (1942) is the true first; the UK first is John Lane The Bodley Head (1944), with illustrations by James Holland.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 'FIRST EDITION' stated on the copyright page
- Doubleday, Doran imprint; original blue cloth stamped in white and pink; first-issue dust jacket retaining its original price
- Welty's first novel (a novella retelling of a Grimm tale set in the Natchez Trace country)
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday, Doran & Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Eudora Welty |
| Publisher | Doubleday, Doran & Company |
| Year | 1942 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | 'FIRST EDITION' stated on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
'FIRST EDITION' stated on the copyright page; Doubleday, Doran imprint; original blue cloth stamped in white and pink; first-issue dust jacket retaining its original price. Welty's first novel (a novella retelling of a Grimm tale set in the Natchez Trace country).

## Is this the true first?
US Doubleday, Doran (1942) is the true first; the UK first is John Lane The Bodley Head (1944), with illustrations by James Holland.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings drop the stated 'First Edition'; confirm the blue cloth, the stated first, and the price-intact first-issue jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Robber Bridegroom* by Eudora Welty a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-robber-bridegroom
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.