# Is "Witch World" by Andre Norton (Alice Mary Norton) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Witch World by Andre Norton (Alice Mary Norton) (Ace Books, Inc., New York, 1963) is identified by: Paperback original, small octavo in pictorial wrappers, Ace catalog number F-197, 1963, with cover art by Jack Gaughan. US Ace paperback original is the true first, confirming the census claim; there is no earlier hardcover and no UK edition preceding it.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Paperback original, small octavo in pictorial wrappers, Ace catalog number F-197, 1963, with cover art by Jack Gaughan
- There is no statement of printing on the copyright page (so recorded by L.W. Currey), and no number line — identification therefore rests entirely on the F-197 catalog designation and the price printed on the front wrapper, both of which change on later Ace reprints issued under new catalog numbers
- Wrapper condition, spine roll and cover gloss are the operative physical points; there is no dust jacket on the true first
- Publisher imprint reads Ace Books, Inc., New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Andre Norton (Alice Mary Norton) |
| Publisher | Ace Books, Inc., New York |
| Year | 1963 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Paperback original, small octavo in pictorial wrappers, Ace catalog number F-197, 1963, with cover art by Jack Gaughan |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Paperback original, small octavo in pictorial wrappers, Ace catalog number F-197, 1963, with cover art by Jack Gaughan. There is no statement of printing on the copyright page (so recorded by L.W. Currey), and no number line — identification therefore rests entirely on the F-197 catalog designation and the price printed on the front wrapper, both of which change on later Ace reprints issued under new catalog numbers. Wrapper condition, spine roll and cover gloss are the operative physical points; there is no dust jacket on the true first.

## Is this the true first?
US Ace paperback original is the true first, confirming the census claim; there is no earlier hardcover and no UK edition preceding it. The first hardcover is Gregg Press (Boston) 1977, issued as volume 1 of the seven-volume set The Witch World Novels of Andre Norton, in a first printing of about 1,200 sets sold largely to libraries — dealers correctly catalog it as "First Edition Thus," and it is a first-hardcover/first-thus trap, not the true first. Collectors seeking the true first must buy the wrappered Ace F-197.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club printing of the Ace paperback original is documented; mass-market paperback originals of this period were not club-issued. The Gregg Press 1977 hardcovers are library-market reprints of the Ace text and should not be mistaken for the first edition. Later Ace reprints of Witch World appear under different Ace catalog numbers and different wrapper prices, which is the reliable reprint tell in the absence of any printing statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Witch World* by Andre Norton (Alice Mary Norton) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/witch-world
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.