The points of issue
CONFIRMED: 1,789 copies first printing (Daniel; multiple ABAA dealers). True first is US Cape and Smith 1929, published Oct 7 1929; UK Chatto and Windus 1931 is later. No additional-printing notice is consistent. WRONG BINDING: not black cloth with paper spine label; it is patterned Art Deco paper-covered boards with a white cloth spine, title stamped in black on the spine with no paper label, dark blue-gray topstain, patterned endpapers. WRONG JACKET: not glassine; it is a printed pictorial jacket with a Kathe Kollwitz design; the real point of issue is the rear-panel Humanity Uprooted listing at 3.00 dollars first state versus 3.50 dollars second state. The jacket is genuinely scarce. PARTLY MISLEADING COLORED INK: it is true the 1929 text has no colored ink and Faulkner wished for colored type for the Benjy time-shifts, but this is not a point of issue since all early printings are monochrome, and it was later realized in the 2012 Folio Society edition; reword unrealized to unrealized in his lifetime.
Is this the true first?
US Cape & Smith is the true first; the UK Chatto & Windus edition is later. Earliest Faulkner firsts are defined by the Cape & Smith imprint and first-state binding.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Grosset & Dunlap and later reprints carry their own imprints; no book-club edition matches the Cape & Smith first-printing binding and label.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of The Sound and the Fury a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: CONFIRMED: 1,789 copies first printing (Daniel; multiple ABAA dealers). True first is US Cape and Smith 1929, published Oct 7 1929; UK Chatto and Windus 1931 is later. No additional-printing notice is consistent. WRONG BINDING: not black cloth with paper spine label; it is patterned Art Deco paper-covered boards with a white cloth spine, title stamped in black on the spine with no paper label, dark blue-gray topstain, patterned endpapers. WRONG JACKET: not glassine; it is a printed pictorial jacket with a Kathe Kollwitz design; the real point of issue is th
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. US Cape & Smith is the true first; the UK Chatto & Windus edition is later. Earliest Faulkner firsts are defined by the Cape & Smith imprint and first-state binding.
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
Grosset & Dunlap and later reprints carry their own imprints; no book-club edition matches the Cape & Smith first-printing binding and label.
I have a first edition of The Sound and the Fury — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.