Is My The Track of the Cat a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing is stated: Random House printed "First Printing" / "First Edition" on the copyright page in this era and removed the line on subsequent printings, and independent dealers describing first printings of this title quote the statement directly ("First Edition/First Printing - stated")
• Collates 404 pages, octavo
• Bound in dark teal cloth stamped in black and gilt
• The jacket is by E. McKnight Kauffer; a priced jacket (price present at the front flap) is expected on the first, and jackets are frequently found price-clipped
• Random House's later convention -- "First Edition" plus a number line whose lowest number is 2 -- belongs to the 1970s onward and does not apply to a 1949 book: for this title the copyright-page statement alone governs

How Random House marked a first edition

• Stated-edition era (c.1936–1975): trade first printings are plainly marked with the words 'First Edition' (or, on some earlier titles, 'First Printing') on the copyright page, with NO number line yet in use; a copyright…
• Divisional practice — share the STATEMENT, not the '2'-line: sister divisions state 'First Edition' as their firsts (Alfred A. Knopf consistently since 1933–34; Pantheon since 1964), so the words work across the family.…

Full Random House 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?

US Random House, New York, 1949 is the true first. The census note's "US-only" is not quite right and is corrected here: a UK edition was published by Victor Gollancz Ltd, London, in 1950 -- reported in green cloth lettered in red -- but it follows the American issue by a year, so it is the first UK edition, not the true first. Name both where the UK is collected: Random House (US, 1949) is the first; Victor Gollancz (London, 1950) is the first UK. Clark published only three novels -- The Ox-Bow Incident (Random House, 1940), The City of Trembling Leaves (1945) and this -- so the Random House firsts are the whole shelf. "First thus" traps: the Signet and later paperback reissues.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club printing of the Random House first is documented in the sources consulted -- the point is simply unrecorded rather than contradicted. If a club copy is encountered, the standard American BCE tells of the period apply: a copyright page lacking the "First Printing" statement, a small blind stamp or dot at the lower right of the rear board, smaller bulk and thinner paper, and a jacket without a price at the flap.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Track of the Cat a first edition?

A first edition of The Track of the Cat by Walter Van Tilburg Clark (Random House) is identified by: The first printing is stated: Random House printed "First Printing" / "First Edition" on the copyright page in this era and removed the line on subsequent printings, and independent dealers describing first printings of this title quote the statement directly ("First Edition/First Printing - stated").

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). US Random House, New York, 1949 is the true first.

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

No book-club printing of the Random House first is documented in the sources consulted -- the point is simply unrecorded rather than contradicted. If a club copy is encountered, the standard American BCE tells of the period apply: a copyright page lacking the "First Printing" statement, a small blind stamp or dot at the lower right of the rear board, smaller bulk and thinner paper, and a jacket without a price at the flap.

I have a first edition of The Track of the Cat — 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.