# Is "We Are the Living" by Erskine Caldwell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of We Are the Living by Erskine Caldwell (The Viking Press, 1933) is identified by: Published by The Viking Press, New York, September 1933, collecting twenty stories (four of them new: 'The Medicine Man,' 'Meddlesome Jack,' 'The Grass Fire,' and 'A Woman in the House'). The US first overall is the Viking signed limited of 250 copies, which precedes the unsigned trade printing; the Secker UK edition followed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Published by The Viking Press, New York, September 1933, collecting twenty stories (four of them new: 'The Medicine Man,' 'Meddlesome Jack,' 'The Grass Fire,' and 'A Woman in the House')
- The true first is the signed limited edition of 250 numbered copies, each signed by Caldwell on the limitation leaf, bound in orange-tan cloth with titling and rules stamped in brown and green, top edge gilt, and issued in a plain slipcase
- The first trade printing follows in ivory cloth stamped in brown and forest green on spine and upper cover, top edge stained brown, in a pictorial dust jacket illustrated by Alfred Maurer; the trade first bears no statement of a later printing on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads The Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erskine Caldwell |
| Publisher | The Viking Press |
| Year | 1933 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Published by The Viking Press, New York, September 1933, collecting twenty stories (four of them new: 'The Medicine Man,' 'Meddlesome… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Published by The Viking Press, New York, September 1933, collecting twenty stories (four of them new: 'The Medicine Man,' 'Meddlesome Jack,' 'The Grass Fire,' and 'A Woman in the House'). The true first is the signed limited edition of 250 numbered copies, each signed by Caldwell on the limitation leaf, bound in orange-tan cloth with titling and rules stamped in brown and green, top edge gilt, and issued in a plain slipcase. The first trade printing follows in ivory cloth stamped in brown and forest green on spine and upper cover, top edge stained brown, in a pictorial dust jacket illustrated by Alfred Maurer; the trade first bears no statement of a later printing on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
The US first overall is the Viking signed limited of 250 copies, which precedes the unsigned trade printing; the Secker UK edition followed. On the trade issue, a clean copyright page with no added printing statement marks the first printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not a book-club title; later trade printings are identified by an added printing statement on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *We Are the Living* by Erskine Caldwell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/we-are-the-living
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.