Is My The Wild Birds: Six Stories of the Port William Membership a First Edition?

The points of issue

• North Point Press (San Francisco) first printing, 1986, of this collection of six Port William stories (Thicker Than Liquor
• Where Did They Go?; It Wasn't Me
• The Boundary
• That Distant Land
• The Wild Birds)
• North Point books carry no printer's number line, so a first printing is identified by the absence of any later-printing or additional-printing statement on the copyright page

How North Point Press marked a first edition

• Independent era (first books fall 1980 through ~1991): look for a stated 'First edition' or 'First printing' on the copyright page; many titles also carry a descending number line where the lowest digit present indicates…

Full North Point Press 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?

True first edition of this story collection; North Point was Berry's US publisher and there was no earlier UK printing. Because North Point used no number line, confirm a first printing by the clean copyright page (no statement of later or additional printings) rather than by a printer's key.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition. North Point issued the cloth and wrappers simultaneously with no priority stated between them; the cloth issue is the preferred collectible form. Later North Point printings add a printing statement to the copyright page.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Wild Birds: Six Stories of the Port William Membership a first edition?

A first edition of The Wild Birds: Six Stories of the Port William Membership by Wendell Berry (North Point Press) is identified by: North Point Press (San Francisco) first printing, 1986, of this collection of six Port William stories (Thicker Than Liquor; Where Did They Go?; It Wasn't Me; The Boundary; That Distant Land; The Wild Birds).

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). True first edition of this story collection; North Point was Berry's US publisher and there was no earlier UK printing.

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

No book-club edition. North Point issued the cloth and wrappers simultaneously with no priority stated between them; the cloth issue is the preferred collectible form. Later North Point printings add a printing statement to the copyright page.

I have a first edition of The Wild Birds: Six Stories of the Port William Membership — what should I do?

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 lost. To sell, see the author’s collecting guide. Either way, nothing collectible ends up in a landfill.

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.