# Is "The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790" by Rhys Isaac a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790 by Rhys Isaac (University of North Carolina Press, 1982) is identified by: Cloth; published by the University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, 1982 (ISBN 0-8078-1489-X); the first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed front-flap price and is priced regardless of clipping. US University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill) hardcover is the true first; Isaac became the only Australian historian to win the Pulitzer Prize for History with this book.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Cloth; published by the University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, 1982 (ISBN 0-8078-1489-X); the first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed front-flap price and is priced regardless of clipping
- Awarded the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for History
- Publisher imprint reads University of North Carolina Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rhys Isaac |
| Publisher | University of North Carolina Press |
| Year | 1982 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Cloth; published by the University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, 1982… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Cloth; published by the University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, 1982 (ISBN 0-8078-1489-X); the first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed front-flap price and is priced regardless of clipping. Awarded the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for History.

## Is this the true first?
US University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill) hardcover is the true first; Isaac became the only Australian historian to win the Pulitzer Prize for History with this book.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The later W. W. Norton paperback (ISBN 0-393-95693-1) and the reset Omohundro Institute/UNC Press reissue (ISBN 978-0-8078-4814-2) are reprints, not the first edition; no separate book-club issue is documented.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790* by Rhys Isaac a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-transformation-of-virginia-1740-1790
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.