# Is "The Tie That Binds" by Kent Haruf a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Tie That Binds by Kent Haruf (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1984) is identified by: The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page together with a FULL number line beginning with 1 — dealers report the first-printing line as "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2." The trap is well documented on this title: the second printing drops the 1 and reads "3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" while sellers still describe such copies as first editions, so count the line rather than trust the statement (Holt, Rinehart & Winston used a first-edition statement plus number row from the 1970s onward — Quill & Brush; ILAB). US-only true first: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1984 — Haruf's debut novel and considerably scarcer than Plainsong.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page together with a FULL number line beginning with 1 — dealers report the first-printing line as "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2." The trap is well documented on this title: the second printing drops the 1 and reads "3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" while sellers still describe such copies as first editions, so count the line rather than trust the statement (Holt, Rinehart & Winston used a first-edition statement plus number row from the 1970s onward — Quill & Brush
- Physical points: 246 pp., octavo (21.5 cm), quarter black cloth over gray/beige paper-covered boards stamped in red
- ISBN 0-03-071979-8
- Jacket point: the first-issue jacket carries the date code "1084" at the front flap with the price present, unclipped
- No first-state text errors are documented
- Publisher imprint reads Holt, Rinehart and Winston
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Kent Haruf |
| Publisher | Holt, Rinehart and Winston |
| Year | 1984 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page together with a FULL number line beginning with 1 — dealers report the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page together with a FULL number line beginning with 1 — dealers report the first-printing line as "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2." The trap is well documented on this title: the second printing drops the 1 and reads "3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" while sellers still describe such copies as first editions, so count the line rather than trust the statement (Holt, Rinehart & Winston used a first-edition statement plus number row from the 1970s onward — Quill & Brush; ILAB). Physical points: 246 pp., octavo (21.5 cm), quarter black cloth over gray/beige paper-covered boards stamped in red; ISBN 0-03-071979-8. Jacket point: the first-issue jacket carries the date code "1084" at the front flap with the price present, unclipped. No first-state text errors are documented.

## Is this the true first?
US-only true first: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1984 — Haruf's debut novel and considerably scarcer than Plainsong. No 1980s British edition was traced; the UK issue is Picador (London, 2002, ISBN 0330490451), published nearly two decades later in the wake of Plainsong's success, and the Vintage Contemporaries US paperback (ISBN 0375724389) is likewise a "first thus." Both are reprints. Only the 1984 Holt, Rinehart and Winston hardcover is the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No Holt/Book-of-the-Month club issue for this title was traced in the sources consulted. Standard club tells apply and should be checked before relying on the copyright page: no price and no "1084" code at the jacket flap (often "Book Club Edition" printed there instead), a blind stamp or colored deboss at the lower rear board near the spine, and smaller trim with lighter bulk. On this title the number line is the decisive test — a copy whose line starts at 3 is the second printing, not a first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Tie That Binds* by Kent Haruf a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-tie-that-binds
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.