First Edition Points and Criteria for The Caine Mutiny

Year Published: 1951
Author Last Name: Wouk
Author First Name: Herman
Publisher: Doubleday & Company
Original Price: $3.95
Pages: 494

The first edition of this classic Herman Wouk book was published by Doubleday & Company in 1951. It was 494 pages long, and the original retail price was $3.95. The first edition can be identified by the following criteria: "First Edition" is stated on the bottom left corner of the copyright page. First state dust Jacket that says "The City Boy" on the back cover. 22,500 copies of the first printing were produced, but it is unclear how many came with first issue dust jackets.

The Caine Mutiny won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.


Picture of the 1951 first edition dust jacket for The Caine Mutiny.


Picture of the first edition copyright page for The Caine Mutiny.


Picture of dust jacket where original $3.95 price is found for The Caine Mutiny.


The first issue dust jacket says "The City Boy" and was quickly changed to "City Boy" for a second issue. Later printing dust jackets look similar, but they make mention of the Pulitzer Prize toward the bottom of the Wouk's bio.


Picture of the first edition Doubleday & Company boards for The Caine Mutiny.


Picture of the back dust jacket flap for the first edition of The Caine Mutiny.




Don't be confused by "City Boy" listed on the back flap without "The". The true first edition point is on the back of the dust jacket, not on the flap. The flap says "City Boy" on both states of the dust jacket.


To confuse thing further, a listing for "The City Boy" is found inside the all first editions and early printings of The Caine Mutiny. It's even listed that way in the UK edition. Consequently we are often asked what the actual name of the book is - "City Boy" or "The City Boy"? Please refer to our The City Boy listing for the answer.


A comparison of the first state (left) and second state (right) shows the presence of "The" in "The City Boy" on the first state. Other differences to aide in identification include: The gold background on the first issue jacket begins at an even distance between the E in CAINE and the M in MUTINY in the large title at the bottom. "(1948)" is justified at the beginning the 14th line of text on the first issue, but is pulled back to the end of the 13th line on the second. The last line of the paragraph says "for THE CAINE MUTINY" on the first issue, but is pulled back to say just "CAINE MUTINY" on the second.


This is a later state dust jacket produced after Caine Mutiny had won the Pulitzer prize which is evident by the last sentence of the paragraph. Like the first issue second state dust jacket, this jacket also lacks "The" in "The City Boy". And also like the second state, this later jacket has the same postion of the gold background. This supports the current belief of jacket state order - from "The City Boy" to "City Boy", and with the gold background adjusting slightly to the right.


This is the first British edition.

Other first edition points for books by Herman Wouk include: The City Boy.