Is My Wolf Song a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Two issues appeared under the 1927 Knopf first edition
• The signed limited issue carries a limitation leaf stating that of the first edition of Wolf Song 100 copies have been printed on Borzoi all-rag paper and signed by the author; it is numbered, bound in two-tone quarter cloth over marbled boards, issued in a slipcase, and collates [10] + 206 pages
• The first trade issue is bound in purple cloth with titling and decoration stamped in blue and yellow on the spine and front cover, with a yellow topstain, deckled fore- and bottom-edges and pictorial endpapers, in a pictorial jacket with the price present at the flap
• 206 pages, illustrated
• The sources consulted do not record a copyright-page edition statement for the Knopf first, so identification of the trade issue rests on the 1927 Knopf/Borzoi imprint together with the binding, topstain, deckled edges and pictorial endpapers described above

How Alfred A. Knopf / Borzoi Books marked a first edition

• 1915–c.1933 (no stated-edition era): first printings carry NO first-edition notation at all. Identify by EXCLUSION — a genuine first has none of the later-printing legends ('Second Printing,' 'Third Printing,' etc.) that…
• c.1933/1934 onward (stated 'First Edition' era — the core rule): Knopf began consistently printing 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page of first printings, or 'FIRST AMERICAN EDITION' when the book had already appeared…

Full Alfred A. Knopf / Borzoi Books 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 US 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?

US Knopf 1927 is the true first; the Knopf imprint of the period reads "New York and London" (Borzoi Books), so there is no separate earlier UK edition to weigh. Both issues of the first edition are collected and should be named together: the signed limited issue of 100 copies on Borzoi all-rag paper, and the first trade issue -- the trade being sought because its pictorial jacket is very uncommon. "First thus" traps, one of them directly relevant to this shelf: the Grosset & Dunlap reprint, and the 1936 Knopf omnibus Followers of the Sun, which gathers Wolf Song with The Blood of the Conquerors and In Those Days. The omnibus is a first of the collection only, not of Wolf Song. The Bison Books / University of Nebraska Press paperback is a much later reissue.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue of the 1927 Knopf first is documented in the sources consulted. The reprint to know is Grosset & Dunlap, which carries the G&D imprint on the spine and title page and lacks the Knopf/Borzoi devices; the 1936 Followers of the Sun omnibus is the other common substitution for the first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Wolf Song a first edition?

A first edition of Wolf Song by Harvey Fergusson (Alfred A. Knopf / Borzoi Books) is identified by: Two issues appeared under the 1927 Knopf first edition.

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. US Knopf 1927 is the true first; the Knopf imprint of the period reads "New York and London" (Borzoi Books), so there is no separate earlier UK edition to weigh.

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

No book-club issue of the 1927 Knopf first is documented in the sources consulted. The reprint to know is Grosset & Dunlap, which carries the G&D imprint on the spine and title page and lacks the Knopf/Borzoi devices; the 1936 Followers of the Sun omnibus is the other common substitution for the first.

I have a first edition of Wolf Song — 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.