Is My Copy of 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

• ISBN prefix 978-0-8263
• 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 US 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.P-043448

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.P-043449

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. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.