# Is "The Witches of Eastwick (Franklin Library Signed First Edition)" by John Updike a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Witches of Eastwick (Franklin Library Signed First Edition) by John Updike (The Franklin Library, 1984) is identified by: Full gilt-decorated leather, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, bound-in silk ribbon marker, illustrations by Michael Deas; issued as a Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society volume and hand-signed by Updike on a bound-in limitation page. The Knopf trade edition is the true textual first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Full gilt-decorated leather, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, bound-in silk ribbon marker, illustrations by Michael Deas; issued as a Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society volume and hand-signed by Updike on a bound-in limitation page
- The trade textual first is Alfred A. Knopf
- , 'First Edition' stated, cloth boards with silver lettering
- Publisher imprint reads The Franklin Library
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Updike |
| Publisher | The Franklin Library |
| Year | 1984 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Full gilt-decorated leather, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, bound-in silk ribbon marker, illustrations by Michael Deas; issued as a… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Full gilt-decorated leather, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, bound-in silk ribbon marker, illustrations by Michael Deas; issued as a Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society volume and hand-signed by Updike on a bound-in limitation page. The trade textual first is Alfred A. Knopf (1984), 'First Edition' stated, cloth boards with silver lettering.

## Is this the true first?
The Knopf trade edition is the true textual first. The Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society copy is genuinely hand-signed by Updike on a bound-in limitation page (the Society series, 1983-2000, used hand signatures, not facsimiles), and was issued as a simultaneous deluxe. It is collectible as a genuinely signed deluxe issue, but the Knopf printing carries textual precedence.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not a book-club reprint; it is a genuinely hand-signed deluxe issue from the Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society. Do not conflate the leather Franklin volume with the Knopf first-printing points: keep the leather signed issue and the trade Knopf first as distinct records.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Witches of Eastwick (Franklin Library Signed First Edition)* by John Updike a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-witches-of-eastwick-franklin-library-signed-first-editio
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.