Is My Whistle a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Delacorte trade first printing states 'First Delacorte Press printing' / 'First Printing' on the copyright page and is bound in light brown boards with a dark brown spine gilt-stamped on the spine; roughly 452 pages with rough-cut edges
• Published posthumously, the final three chapters were completed from Jones's notes and conversations by his editor Willie Morris
• Third novel of the army war trilogy following From Here to Eternity and The Thin Red Line
• The first-issue dust jacket should retain its original printed price on the front flap

How Delacorte Press marked a first edition

• "First printing" or "First Edition" stated on the copyright page, frequently paired with a number line ending in 1
• Vonnegut-era Delacorte / Seymour Lawrence books: look for an explicit "First printing" statement on the copyright page (e.g. Slaughterhouse-Five is a stated first printing)

Full Delacorte 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. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. 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.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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?

A leatherbound Franklin Library edition, privately printed for members of the First Edition Society by arrangement with Delacorte and issued with a separate 'Notes from the Editors' pamphlet, appeared in 1978 and precedes the Delacorte trade printing; the Delacorte 1978 hardcover is the true first trade edition. A UK Collins edition also followed.P-013494

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book club editions lack the stated 'First Printing' line and are distinct from the trade first; they typically use cheaper boards and lack the printed jacket price. The gilt-decorated, all-edges-gilt Franklin Library issue is a separate leatherbound printing, not the trade first.P-013495

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Whistle a first edition?

A first edition of Whistle by James Jones (Delacorte Press) is identified by: Delacorte trade first printing states 'First Delacorte Press printing' / 'First Printing' on the copyright page and is bound in light brown boards with a dark brown spine gilt-stamped on the spine; roughly 452 pages with rough-cut edges.

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. A leatherbound Franklin Library edition, privately printed for members of the First Edition Society by arrangement with Delacorte and issued with a separate 'Notes from the Editors' pamphlet, appeared in 1978 and precedes the Delacorte trade printing; the Delacorte 1978 hardcover is the true first trade edition.

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

Book club editions lack the stated 'First Printing' line and are distinct from the trade first; they typically use cheaper boards and lack the printed jacket price. The gilt-decorated, all-edges-gilt Franklin Library issue is a separate leatherbound printing, not the trade first.

I have a first edition of Whistle — 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.