# Is "Three Soldiers" by John Dos Passos a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos (George H. Doran Company, New York, 1921) is identified by: First state of the first edition has the misprint signing for singing on page 213, line 31. True US first; precedes the UK Hutchinson edition (1922).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First state of the first edition has the misprint signing for singing on page 213, line 31
- Additional first-state points: three integral blank leaves at the front (none at the back), no colophon device on the copyright page, and the leaf bearing pages 9 and 10 tipped in rather than sewn
- First-issue dust jacket carries the publisher's blurb on the front, spine, and back
- Publisher imprint reads George H. Doran Company, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Dos Passos |
| Publisher | George H. Doran Company, New York |
| Year | 1921 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First state of the first edition has the misprint signing for singing on page 213, line 31 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First state of the first edition has the misprint signing for singing on page 213, line 31. Additional first-state points: three integral blank leaves at the front (none at the back), no colophon device on the copyright page, and the leaf bearing pages 9 and 10 tipped in rather than sewn. First-issue dust jacket carries the publisher's blurb on the front, spine, and back.

## Is this the true first?
True US first; precedes the UK Hutchinson edition (1922). The first-state textual point is the signing for singing misprint on page 213, line 31, corrected in later printings.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club issue. Later printings correct the page 213 misprint, and Doran's colophon device appears on the copyright page of later impressions.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Three Soldiers* by John Dos Passos a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/three-soldiers
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.