# Is "Tournament" by Shelby Foote a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Tournament by Shelby Foote (The Dial Press, 1949) is identified by: Dial Press first printing with no statement of a later printing on the copyright page (Copyright 1949, Dial Press, New York). US first (The Dial Press) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Dial Press first printing with no statement of a later printing on the copyright page (Copyright 1949, Dial Press, New York)
- Grey cloth, octavo, 242 pages
- First-issue dust jacket carries the publisher's price on the front flap
- Foote's first novel; characters who recur in his later fiction appear here first
- Publisher imprint reads The Dial Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Shelby Foote |
| Publisher | The Dial Press |
| Year | 1949 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Dial Press first printing with no statement of a later printing on the copyright page (Copyright 1949, Dial Press, New York) |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Dial Press first printing with no statement of a later printing on the copyright page (Copyright 1949, Dial Press, New York). Grey cloth, octavo, 242 pages. First-issue dust jacket carries the publisher's price on the front flap. Foote's first novel; characters who recur in his later fiction appear here first.

## Is this the true first?
US first (The Dial Press) is the true first. Later editions, including the 1987 reissue, are reset; UK appearances follow the American first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No significant book club issue noted; later reprints carry printing or reset-text notations.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Tournament* by Shelby Foote a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/tournament
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.