# Is "The Tokyo-Montana Express" by Richard Brautigan a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Tokyo-Montana Express by Richard Brautigan (Delacorte Press / Seymour Lawrence, 1980) is identified by: First printing so stated, with the number line present on the copyright page. True first trade edition is the 1980 Delacorte Press / Seymour Lawrence hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing so stated, with the number line present on the copyright page
- Bound in quarter blue cloth over cream paper-covered boards, gilt titling to the spine and a train motif stamped in gilt on the front board
- 258 pages
- Original first-issue dust jacket unclipped, retaining its printed front-flap price
- Publisher imprint reads Delacorte Press / Seymour Lawrence
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Richard Brautigan |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press / Seymour Lawrence |
| Year | 1980 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing so stated, with the number line present on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First printing so stated, with the number line present on the copyright page. Bound in quarter blue cloth over cream paper-covered boards, gilt titling to the spine and a train motif stamped in gilt on the front board; 258 pages. Original first-issue dust jacket unclipped, retaining its printed front-flap price.

## Is this the true first?
True first trade edition is the 1980 Delacorte Press / Seymour Lawrence hardcover. A separate signed, limited edition containing only twenty of the pieces was issued earlier by Targ Editions (1979) in an edition of 350 signed copies; that is a distinct prior book, not a limited issue of the 1980 Delacorte first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
None notable.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Tokyo-Montana Express* by Richard Brautigan a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-tokyo-montana-express
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.