# Is "The Snow Leopard" by Peter Matthiessen a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen (The Viking Press, 1978) is identified by: The Viking Press, New York, 1978. US Viking (New York) is the true first; the UK Chatto & Windus edition followed in 1979.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The Viking Press, New York, 1978
- The first printing is identified by the copyright-page statement that the book was first published in 1978 by The Viking Press, with no statement of a later printing
- First-state dust jacket is priced on the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads The Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Peter Matthiessen |
| Publisher | The Viking Press |
| Year | 1978 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The Viking Press, New York, 1978 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The Viking Press, New York, 1978. The first printing is identified by the copyright-page statement that the book was first published in 1978 by The Viking Press, with no statement of a later printing. First-state dust jacket is priced on the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
US Viking (New York) is the true first; the UK Chatto & Windus edition followed in 1979. The book won the 1979 National Book Award for Contemporary Thought and a 1980 National Book Award in the paperback category.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A separate Franklin Library leather issue exists and is not the trade first. Book-club reprints lack the jacket price. Confirm there is no later-printing statement on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Snow Leopard* by Peter Matthiessen a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-snow-leopard
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.