Is My The Untamed a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1919, title page bearing the "New York and London" imprint, and printed for the publishers at The Knickerbocker Press, New York (Knickerbocker device/colophon present)
• Collates iv, 374 pp., with two leaves of publisher's advertisements at the rear — a first should retain the ad leaves
• Issued in red cloth lettered in gilt on the upper cover and spine
• Putnam used no printing statement on this book, so the test is negative: the 1919 title-page date with no later-printing notice on the copyright page, plus the Knickerbocker Press colophon and the rear ads
• Dust jackets are rare on this title; on a jacketed copy look for a priced jacket with the price present at the flap
• One ABAA dealer records an advance/review copy whose jacket front is stamped "Published Mar 15" — that is an advance-copy marking, not a general issue point, and should not be treated as a requirement

How G. P. Putnam's Sons marked a first edition

• PRE-1928 (early independent house): Putnam printed NO first-edition statement. Identify a first by matching the copyright-page year to the title-page year with no reprint/later-printing notice on the copyright page. Afte…

Full G. P. Putnam's Sons 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. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
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?

Census claim confirmed. US first edition and the first book appearance; Faust's first book, and the first of the Max Brand Westerns. The Putnam title page reads "New York and London," but the sheets are American (printed at the Knickerbocker Press, New York) — that dual imprint is Putnam's own house line, not evidence of a separate British edition. No separately set UK first is documented in the sources consulted, so there is no UK/US precedence contest: the 1919 Putnam is the true first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue documented. The standard trap is the Grosset & Dunlap reprint, which retains the 1919 date and is identified by the Grosset & Dunlap imprint at the foot of the title page and on the spine, coarser paper/bulk, and ads for other G&D titles rather than Putnam's. Later University of Nebraska Press / Bison Books paperback reissues are "first thus" reprints.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Untamed a first edition?

A first edition of The Untamed by Max Brand (Frederick Faust) (G. P. Putnam's Sons) is identified by: Putnam's Sons, 1919, title page bearing the "New York and London" imprint, and printed for the publishers at The Knickerbocker Press, New York (Knickerbocker device/colophon present).

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

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. Census claim confirmed.

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

No book-club issue documented. The standard trap is the Grosset & Dunlap reprint, which retains the 1919 date and is identified by the Grosset & Dunlap imprint at the foot of the title page and on the spine, coarser paper/bulk, and ads for other G&D titles rather than Putnam's. Later University of Nebraska Press / Bison Books paperback reissues are "first thus" reprints.

I have a first edition of The Untamed — 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.