# Is "Tobacco Road" by Erskine Caldwell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1932) is identified by: Scribner 'A' first-printing point: the capital 'A' with the Scribner seal on the copyright page, together with the date 1932 present on the title page. US Scribner first; the later UK Grayson edition followed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Scribner 'A' first-printing point: the capital 'A' with the Scribner seal on the copyright page, together with the date 1932 present on the title page
- Terra cotta cloth stamped in blind and gilt with turquoise endpapers; octavo, 241 pages
- The first printing was a small run of about 1,500 copies
- First-issue dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap and should retain it
- Publisher imprint reads Charles Scribner's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erskine Caldwell |
| Publisher | Charles Scribner's Sons |
| Year | 1932 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Scribner 'A' first-printing point: the capital 'A' with the Scribner seal on the copyright page, together with the date 1932 present on the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Scribner 'A' first-printing point: the capital 'A' with the Scribner seal on the copyright page, together with the date 1932 present on the title page. Terra cotta cloth stamped in blind and gilt with turquoise endpapers; octavo, 241 pages. The first printing was a small run of about 1,500 copies. First-issue dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap and should retain it.

## Is this the true first?
US Scribner first; the later UK Grayson edition followed. A landmark Depression-era novel with a modest first printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Scribner printings lack the 'A' and seal; a Grosset & Dunlap photoplay/tie-in reprint (issued alongside the long-running stage adaptation) exists and is not the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Tobacco Road* by Erskine Caldwell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/tobacco-road
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.