# Is "To Tame a Land" by Louis L'Amour a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of To Tame a Land by Louis L'Amour (Fawcett Gold Medal, 1955) is identified by: Gold Medal paperback original, September 1955, issued as Gold Medal Book number 516 with cover art by Frank McCarthy; the wrappers carry the original the printed price Gold Medal price, and the text runs to 143 pages. True first US edition; a Fawcett Gold Medal paperback original of September 1955.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Gold Medal paperback original, September 1955, issued as Gold Medal Book number 516 with cover art by Frank McCarthy; the wrappers carry the original the printed price Gold Medal price, and the text runs to 143 pages
- The novel is an expansion of L'Amour's 1951 pulp novelette that first appeared in Texas Rangers
- No prior book edition exists, so the Gold Medal paperback is the true first
- Publisher imprint reads Fawcett Gold Medal
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Louis L'Amour |
| Publisher | Fawcett Gold Medal |
| Year | 1955 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Gold Medal paperback original, September 1955, issued as Gold Medal Book number 516 with… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Gold Medal paperback original, September 1955, issued as Gold Medal Book number 516 with cover art by Frank McCarthy; the wrappers carry the original the printed price Gold Medal price, and the text runs to 143 pages. The novel is an expansion of L'Amour's 1951 pulp novelette that first appeared in Texas Rangers. No prior book edition exists, so the Gold Medal paperback is the true first.

## Is this the true first?
True first US edition; a Fawcett Gold Medal paperback original of September 1955. There is no hardcover precedent.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not applicable; a Gold Medal paperback original has no book club edition. Later Fawcett and Bantam reprints, which carry different cover art and later printing statements, are not the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *To Tame a Land* by Louis L'Amour a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/to-tame-a-land
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.