Is My The Saga of Billy the Kid a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing carries a "First edition" statement on the copyright page
• Doubleday house practice of the period was to state "First edition" or "First printing" and to drop the line on later printings, so a Doubleday, Page copy without the statement is a later printing
• Collates 5 preliminary leaves plus 322 pages, 22 cm, with pictorial (illustrated) lining-papers drawn by Edward Borein; the Library of Congress record (LCCN 26007890) independently transcribes the "First edition" statement, the 5 p.l./322 pp. collation and the illustrated lining-papers
• Dealer descriptions of the first report green cloth, and the pictorial jacket carries a portrait of Billy the Kid on the front panel; a priced jacket (price present at the flap) is expected
• Dealer catalogues cite the book as Adams, Six-Guns and Saddle Leather 337 and Dobie, Guide to Life and Literature of the Southwest p
• The green cloth is reported by a single dealer source and should be confirmed against the copyright page rather than relied on alone

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

US-only true first: Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, 1926. No earlier or simultaneous UK issue; the book was kept in print in England, but the London issues (e.g. Macdonald, 1951) follow well after. The commonest "first thus" traps both retain the 1926 date and are routinely mis-sold as firsts: the Grosset & Dunlap reprint (G&D imprint, copyright page reading "1925, 1926", red cloth, retaining the Borein endpapers) and the Garden City Publishing reprint. Also later: the 1946 Armed Services Edition, the 1953 Signet paperback and the 1999 University of New Mexico Press reissue.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The book was the Book-of-the-Month Club selection for December 1926, and dealers do offer copies of this title explicitly as BOMC/book-club issues, so club copies circulate alongside trade firsts. However, the sources consulted document no distinct point (blindstamp, code or altered copyright page) for the 1926 club issue, so a copy should be judged on the Doubleday, Page imprint plus the copyright-page "First edition" statement rather than on club tells. General BOMC tells of the era -- a small blind stamp or dot at the lower right of the rear board, and a jacket without a price at the flap -- are indicative only and are not confirmed for this title. In practice the commonest confusions in the market are not club copies but the Grosset & Dunlap and Garden City Publishing reprints.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Saga of Billy the Kid a first edition?

A first edition of The Saga of Billy the Kid by Walter Noble Burns (Doubleday, Page & Company) is identified by: The first printing carries a "First edition" statement on the copyright page.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. US-only true first: Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, 1926.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

The book was the Book-of-the-Month Club selection for December 1926, and dealers do offer copies of this title explicitly as BOMC/book-club issues, so club copies circulate alongside trade firsts. However, the sources consulted document no distinct point (blindstamp, code or altered copyright page) for the 1926 club issue, so a copy should be judged on the Doubleday, Page imprint plus the copyright-page "First edition" statement rather than on club tells. General BOMC tells of the era -- a small

I have a first edition of The Saga of Billy the Kid — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.