How to identify a first printing
- Look for the Farrar & Rinehart oval colophon (the publisher's device/logo) printed on the copyright page. Its presence is the primary point of a first printing; per the Zempel & Verkler standard, F&R relied on the device rather than a printed 'First Edition' statement.
- Confirm the copyright page carries NO later-printing statement. On subsequent printings the oval colophon was removed and no first-edition wording was substituted, so device present + no printing statement = first printing; device absent = a later printing.
- Secondary/less-consistent tell: on occasion F&R printed the words 'First Edition' on the copyright page in place of the colophon. Treat its presence as a first-printing point, but its absence does NOT disqualify a book — the colophon is the more reliable and better-documented tell for this house.
- Do NOT expect a number line. As a firm that ended in 1946, Farrar & Rinehart predates the descending-number-line convention (which spread in later decades); there is no '1' at the end of a line to look for. Rely on the colophon-present / no-later-printing-statement rule instead.
- Match the copyright-page year to the stated first-publication year for the title (e.g., The Man Who Killed the Deer, Frank Waters, 1942; Thimble Summer, Elizabeth Enright, 1938). A device removed or a later-printing note indicates a reprint rather than the true first; do not rely on the year alone.
- Distinguish the imprint from its 1946 successors before calling a first: the Farrar & Rinehart oval F&R device is NOT the Rinehart & Company mark (a script/circled 'R', used 1946 onward and removed on later printings) nor the stylized 'FS' initials of Farrar, Straus. Verify the device and publisher string actually read Farrar & Rinehart.
Notable points & cautions
- The firm existed only 1929–1946. In 1946 John Farrar left to co-found a separate new firm with Roger Straus (which became Farrar, Straus & Giroux), and the original company was renamed Rinehart & Company. A Rinehart & Co. or Farrar, Straus copy is NOT a Farrar & Rinehart first — confirm the publisher string and device read Farrar & Rinehart.
- Because identification depends on the colophon being present and no printing statement, later printings are easy to mistake for firsts if a cataloger only reads the date. Always verify the oval device is physically on the copyright page, not just that the year matches.
- Book-club and reprint issues (e.g., Sun Dial, Grosset & Dunlap, or club reprints of popular F&R titles such as Anthony Adverse) carry the reprinter's imprint/device and lack the F&R oval colophon — the missing device is the giveaway.
- F&R's house practice for noting later printings was not uniformly documented, especially on earlier titles; some later states simply lack the colophon rather than adding a 'second printing' line, so rely on device-presence as the positive point.
Imprints
First editions also appear under: Farrar & Rinehart, Farrar and Rinehart, Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., Farrar, Rinehart. Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my Farrar & Rinehart book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. Look for the Farrar & Rinehart oval colophon (the publisher's device/logo) printed on the copyright page. Its presence is the primary point of a first printing; per the Zempel & Verkler standard, F&R relied on the device rather than a printed 'First Edition' statement. Confirm the copyright page carries NO later-printing statement. On subsequent printings the oval colophon was removed and no first-edition wording was substituted, so device present + no printing statement = first printing; device absent = a later printing.
Does Farrar & Rinehart use a number line?
Confirm the copyright page carries NO later-printing statement. On subsequent printings the oval colophon was removed and no first-edition wording was substituted, so device present + no printing statement = first printing; device absent = a later printing.
Is a book-club edition a Farrar & Rinehart first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. The firm existed only 1929–1946. In 1946 John Farrar left to co-found a separate new firm with Roger Straus (which became Farrar, Straus & Giroux), and the original company was renamed Rinehart & Company. A Rinehart & Co. or Farrar, Straus copy is NOT a Farrar & Rinehart first — confirm the publisher string and device read Farrar & Rinehart.
What era does this cover?
This covers Farrar & Rinehart (1929–1946). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.