How to identify a first printing
- 1912-1949: month/year letter code on copyright page. Month: A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar, D=Apr, E=May, F=Jun, G=Jul, H=Aug, I=Sep, K=Oct, L=Nov, M=Dec (J skipped).
- Year code (J skipped): M=1912, N=1913 ... Z=1925, then A=1926, B=1927 ... Z=1950 (cycles).
- Code reads as two letters (month-year), e.g. 'K-Z' = October 1925.
- For firsts, the year letter code should match (or precede) the year on the title page; a code LATER than the title-page year indicates a reprint.
- From 1922: also began printing 'First Edition' on the copyright page in addition to the code.
- Letter code discontinued after 1949; later Harper & Row used standard statements/number lines.
Notable points & cautions
- The letter code is the defining Harper point — memorize that J is skipped in BOTH month and year sequences.
- Between 1912-1922 there is usually no 'First Edition' words — you MUST decode the letter code against the title-page date.
- A matching code confirms first printing; mismatched (later) code on otherwise-identical book = book-club or later printing.
- Becomes Harper & Row in 1962 after merger with Row, Peterson; the vintage code applies only to the Harper & Brothers era.
Imprints
First editions also appear under: Harper & Row (post-1962), Harper's, Harper Torchbooks. Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my Harper & Brothers book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. 1912-1949: month/year letter code on copyright page. Month: A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar, D=Apr, E=May, F=Jun, G=Jul, H=Aug, I=Sep, K=Oct, L=Nov, M=Dec (J skipped). Year code (J skipped): M=1912, N=1913 ... Z=1925, then A=1926, B=1927 ... Z=1950 (cycles).
Does Harper & Brothers use a number line?
Year code (J skipped): M=1912, N=1913 ... Z=1925, then A=1926, B=1927 ... Z=1950 (cycles).
Is a book-club edition a Harper & Brothers first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. The letter code is the defining Harper point — memorize that J is skipped in BOTH month and year sequences.
What era does this cover?
This covers Harper & Brothers (1912-1962 (code 1912-1949)). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.
Harper & Brothers titles with documented first-edition points
Each link opens that title’s specific points of issue — the exact marks that separate a true first printing from a later one.
- A Century of Dishonor (Helen Hunt Jackson (published as "H.H."), 1881)
- A Childhood: The Biography of a Place (Harry Crews, 1978)
- A Fan's Notes (Frederick Exley, 1968)
- A New England Nun and Other Stories (Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, 1891)
- A Thief of Time (Tony Hillerman, 1988)
- A Traveler from Altruria (William Dean Howells, 1894)
- Adventures in the Apache Country (J. Ross Browne, 1869)
- Adventures of Gordon Pym (The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket) (Edgar Allan Poe, 1838)
- Affliction (Russell Banks, 1989)
- Always Coming Home (Ursula K. Le Guin, 1985)
- An American Childhood (Annie Dillard, 1987)
- Annie Allen (Gwendolyn Brooks, 1949)
- Ape and Essence (Aldous Huxley, 1948)
- Arizona Ames (Zane Grey, 1932)
- Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (Herman Melville, 1866)
- Beat Not the Bones (Charlotte Jay, 1952)
- Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (Lew Wallace, 1880)
- Black Boy (Richard Wright, 1945)
- Brave New World Revisited (Aldous Huxley, 1958)
- Burmese Days (George Orwell, 1934)
- By the Shores of Silver Lake (Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1939)
- Charlotte's Web (E. B. White (illus. Garth Williams), 1952)
- Cinnamon Skin (John D. MacDonald, 1982)
- Code of the West (Zane Grey, 1934)
Documenting 215 Harper & Brothers titles in all — browse the full title-by-title library →