# Is "We Fed Them Cactus" by Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of We Fed Them Cactus by Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert (University of New Mexico Press, 1954) 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. UNM Press, Albuquerque, 1954 is the sole and true first — there is no UK edition and no Spanish-language predecessor.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads University of New Mexico Press

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert |
| Publisher | University of New Mexico Press |
| Year | 1954 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1954 confirmed by Library of Congress card number 54012881 ("54-" prefix), by the University… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *We Fed Them Cactus* by Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/we-fed-them-cactus
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.