# Is "The Last Trail" by Zane Grey a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Last Trail by Zane Grey (A.L. Burt, 1909) is identified by: Burt Company first edition, dated 1909 with A. True first US edition, published solely by A.L.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- A.L. Burt Company first edition, dated 1909 with A. L. Burt Company on the title page and copyright page
- Roughly 300 pages, with four half-tone illustrations by J. Watson Davis
- The binding is tan/yellow-brown cloth with red lettering and a black pictorial design stamped to the front cover
- Concluding volume of the Ohio River (Betty Zane) trilogy, following Betty Zane and The Spirit of the Border, and the last novel in which Lewis Wetzel and the Zane family appear
- Publisher imprint reads A.L. Burt
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Zane Grey |
| Publisher | A.L. Burt |
| Year | 1909 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | A.L. Burt Company first edition, dated 1909 with A. L. Burt Company on the title page and copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
A.L. Burt Company first edition, dated 1909 with A. L. Burt Company on the title page and copyright page. Roughly 300 pages, with four half-tone illustrations by J. Watson Davis. The binding is tan/yellow-brown cloth with red lettering and a black pictorial design stamped to the front cover. Concluding volume of the Ohio River (Betty Zane) trilogy, following Betty Zane and The Spirit of the Border, and the last novel in which Lewis Wetzel and the Zane family appear.

## Is this the true first?
True first US edition, published solely by A.L. Burt Company in 1909. This was Grey's last book issued by Burt; beginning in 1910 his first editions moved to Harper.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprint states exist, including Grosset & Dunlap issues and Burt's own later printings; confirm the earliest A.L. Burt state by the 1909 title-page imprint and the J. Watson Davis half-tone plates. A first-issue example should retain its original pictorial dust jacket carrying the printed price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Last Trail* by Zane Grey a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-last-trail
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.