Sons

US John Day (New York) 1932 is the true first — the second volume of the House of Earth trilogy, following The Good Earth (John Day, 1931). The census claim is confirmed. The first UK edition is Methuen & Co. Ltd, London, 1932, stating "First published in Great Britain 1932" on the copyright page, in brown boards with an embossed front cover and black lettering and design on the spine. Both are collected and both are dated 1932, but the Methuen is the British-territory issue of an American book from Buck's home publisher and follows John Day; describe them as "first US" and "first UK" rather than treating the same year as a tie. Within the American issue, the signed limited precedes the trade issue in the collecting hierarchy — the trade copy is the first trade edition, not the first edition outright.