Is My The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition: University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1968, copyright The Regents of the University of California, bound in publisher's medium to dark grey cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, green endpapers, octavo, collating [xii], 196 pp
• The first printing carries no printing statement on the copyright page — there is no number line on this academic-press issue, and reports of a "1" in a number line are not supported by the dealer record
• Caution is required because a second printing also appeared in 1968 (a third followed in 1971); later printings are so designated, so the identification is the absence of any printing designation together with the 1968 title page
• Bauman Rare Books reports a first-state jacket distinguished by the absence of a quotation from Don Juan on the front panel; this point is carried by a single dealer in the sources consulted and should be treated as reported rather than established
• First-issue jackets carry a printed price at the flap

How University of California Press marked a first edition

• Modern UC Press titles use a number line on the copyright page; '1' present = first printing.

Full University of California Press first-edition guide →

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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
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?

University of California Press, Berkeley, 1968 is the true first and the census claim is confirmed — a rare instance of a modern high spot first published by a university press, issued while Castaneda was still a graduate student, in a small run (one dealer estimates 750-1,250 copies, an estimate rather than confirmed data). US only; no UK or original-language edition competes. The Simon & Schuster hardcover of 1973 is the principal trap and is regularly mis-offered as a first; it is a later printing of the text, not the first edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 1968 University of California Press printing. The reprint field is crowded: a second 1968 printing and a third in 1971 from the same press, the Simon & Schuster 1973 hardcover, and the mass-market paperback reprints all follow. Any copy bearing a printing designation, or a Simon & Schuster or paperback imprint, is not the first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge a first edition?

A first edition of The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda (University of California Press) is identified by: First edition: University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1968, copyright The Regents of the University of California, bound in publisher's medium to dark grey cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, green endpapers, octavo, collating [xii], 196 pp.

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

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). University of California Press, Berkeley, 1968 is the true first and the census claim is confirmed — a rare instance of a modern high spot first published by a university press, issued while Castaneda was still a graduate student, in a small run (one dealer estimates 750-1,250 copies, an estimate rather than confirmed data).

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

No book-club issue is documented for the 1968 University of California Press printing. The reprint field is crowded: a second 1968 printing and a third in 1971 from the same press, the Simon & Schuster 1973 hardcover, and the mass-market paperback reprints all follow. Any copy bearing a printing designation, or a Simon & Schuster or paperback imprint, is not the first.

I have a first edition of The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge — 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.