Is My Copy of Welcome to Hard Times a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Doctorow's first book, 180 pp., published by Simon & Schuster, New York, 1960
• The first printing carries a printing statement on the copyright page and no number line: Simon & Schuster began using a first-edition/first-printing statement in 1952 and did not adopt a number row until the early 1970s, so a number line on a copy of this title indicates a later issue
• Binding is quarter cream/white cloth over orange paper-covered boards, lettered in black on the spine and front panel, with a red/brown-orange top-stain — corroborated across independent dealer descriptions
• Issued in a pictorial dust jacket; look for a priced jacket with the price present at the flap, as clipped jackets are common
• The paper stock is notably cheap for a major trade publisher, and uniform age-toning/embrowning of the text block is normal for the first printing rather than evidence of a later state

How Simon & Schuster marked a first edition

• ERA 2 — Mid-century, pre-number-line (1937–mid-1973): Still negative identification — a first printing carries no later-printing notice, while second and subsequent printings are consistently marked (dated, sometimes…

Full Simon & Schuster 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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
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?

The true first is the US edition, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1960. The title-change trap is real — the first UK edition was published by Andre Deutsch, London, 1961 under the different title Bad Man from Bodie, in purple boards with gilt spine lettering; it is a separately collected first English edition but does not precede the US issue. Later UK paperbacks reissued it as Welcome to Hard Times (previously entitled Bad Man from Bodie), which is a first-thus, not a first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club printing of the 1960 Simon & Schuster issue is documented in the sources consulted. The 1961 Andre Deutsch Bad Man from Bodie and all later Random House/Plume reissues are distinct editions, not first-printing states.P-044488

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Welcome to Hard Times a first edition?

A first edition of Welcome to Hard Times by E. L. Doctorow (Simon & Schuster) is identified by: Doctorow's first book, 180 pp., published by Simon & Schuster, New York, 1960.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). The true first is the US edition, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1960.

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

No book-club printing of the 1960 Simon & Schuster issue is documented in the sources consulted. The 1961 Andre Deutsch Bad Man from Bodie and all later Random House/Plume reissues are distinct editions, not first-printing states.

I have a first edition of Welcome to Hard Times — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.