Is My We Fed Them Cactus a First Edition?

The points of issue

• University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1954 confirmed by Library of Congress card number 54012881 ("54-" prefix), by the University of Pennsylvania Franklin catalogue, by WorldCat, and by New Mexico Archives Online
• UNM Press used no formal first-edition statement at this date, so the working test is the 1954 Albuquerque imprint and copyright with no later-printing statement, no series line, and NO ISBN (ISBNs postdate this book — any ISBN is conclusive evidence of a reprint)
• The title page reads "With Drawings by Dorothy L. Peters"; the illustrator's name is a useful check, as she is frequently misreported
• 186 pages of text
• Do NOT rely on preliminary pagination as a point: catalogue and dealer records conflict, with Penn's Franklin record giving xxxii, 186 and dealers giving x, 186
• Dealer descriptions report original yellow cloth; that binding detail is dealer-reported rather than bibliographically established and should be treated as indicative only

How University of New Mexico Press marked a first edition

• Negative-evidence (no later-printing language) on pre-1970 titles

Full University of New Mexico Press first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

UNM Press, Albuquerque, 1954 is the sole and true first — there is no UK edition and no Spanish-language predecessor. Although the author was a Nuevomexicana writing from within a Spanish-speaking tradition, the book was written and first published in English in Albuquerque, so no original-language precedence question arises. A landmark Hispana llano memoir with strong local significance.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented. Reprints: University of New Mexico Press 1979; and the 1994 reissue in the Paso Por Aqui Series on the Nuevomexicano Literary Heritage (LCCN 93011951; ISBN 9780826315038), still in print. The reprint tells are the Paso Por Aqui series line on the title page and cover, and the presence of any ISBN.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of We Fed Them Cactus a first edition?

A first edition of We Fed Them Cactus by Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert (University of New Mexico Press) is identified by: University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1954 confirmed by Library of Congress card number 54012881 ("54-" prefix), by the University of Pennsylvania Franklin catalogue, by WorldCat, and by New Mexico Archives Online.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. UNM Press, Albuquerque, 1954 is the sole and true first — there is no UK edition and no Spanish-language predecessor.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club edition documented. Reprints: University of New Mexico Press 1979; and the 1994 reissue in the Paso Por Aqui Series on the Nuevomexicano Literary Heritage (LCCN 93011951; ISBN 9780826315038), still in print. The reprint tells are the Paso Por Aqui series line on the title page and cover, and the presence of any ISBN.

I have a first edition of We Fed Them Cactus — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.