First Edition Points and Criteria for The Goldfinch

Year Published: 2013
Author Last Name: Tartt
Author First Name: Donna
Publisher: Little, Brown
Original Price: $30.00
Pages: 771

The Goldfinch was published in September 2013 as Het puttertje in Dutch by De Bezige Bij, Amsterdam. It was published a month earlier than the U.S. and UK editions. This was done possibly because the book's title is named for a painting by Dutch master Carel Fabritius, and because parts of the novel take place in Amsterdam. Amsterdam was also the first city on the author's book tour to promote the book. Below are the criteria for the first U.S. and UK editions.

The U.S. edition states First Edition: October 2013 on the copyright page along with full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. Boards are white cloth with black lettering on front and spine. Dust jacket lacks any reviews.

The UK first edition states "First published in Great Britain in 2013 by Little, Brown" and lacks any reference to reprints. Boards are black with silver lettering on the spine. Dust jacket has no reviews. Back of dust jacket has a passage from the book - the main character describing his first encounter with the Goldfinch oil painting.

The UK publisher also offered a deluxe limited-edition of the standard UK first edition. It was a hardback specially bound by the UK publisher in cloth and pictorial board, numbered, and signed by the author. It was limited to 1,000 copies and sold for £35.00. This edition has the same copyright page as the standard UK first edition, and its pictorial boards mirror the front and back of the standard first edition dust jacket. Both the deluxe and standard UK first editions have a small print attached in the front of the book of the 1654 Carel Fabritius oil painting, The Goldfinch.

Note: As part of their "Indiespensable" subscription club, Powell's in Portland Oregon sold a regular U.S. first edition of The Goldfinch that was signed by the author, and housed in a custom third-party slipcase manufactured by Taylor Box Company of Warren, Rhode Island. These books are not limited or special publisher's editions.

The Goldfinch won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.


Picture of the 2013 U.S. first edition dust jacket for The Goldfinch. Note: The jacket design has a simulated tear. It is not actually torn.


Picture of the first edition copyright page for the U.S. first edition of The Goldfinch.


Picture of dust jacket where original $30.00 price is found for the U.S. first edition of The Goldfinch.


Picture of the back dust jacket for the first U.S. edition of The Goldfinch.


Picture of the boards for the first U.S. edition of The Goldfinch.


Picture of the back dust jacket flap for the first U.S. edition of The Goldfinch.


Picture of the title page for the first U.S. edition of The Goldfinch.


This is the front boards of the deluxe limited-edition of the UK first edition. It features picture boards with gold lettering on a gold cloth spine.


The UK deluxe limited-edition has a special numbered page with the author's signature. On the opposite page is a small print of the 1654 Carel Fabritius oil painting, The Goldfinch.


This is the copyright page from the deluxe limited-edition of the UK first edition. It is identical to copyright pages from ordinary UK first editions.


The back board of the UK deluxe limited-edition has a passage from the book - the main character describing his first encounter with the 1654 Carel Fabritius oil painting, The Goldfinch.


This is the title page from the UK deluxe limited-edition of The Goldfinch. This page is identical to that of the ordinary UK first edition.


The UK deluxe limited-edition of The Goldfinch has orange end papers.

Other first edition points for books by Donna Tartt include: The Secret History, Het puttertje.