First Edition Points and Criteria for The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (UK)

Year Published: 1964
Author Last Name: Porter
Author First Name: Katherine Anne
Publisher: Jonathan Cape
Original Price: 35s net
Pages: 487

There is some debate over whether the true first edition was the American or UK edition. By the most strict definition, the UK edition was clearly published a year prior to the American edition. The American edition is stated as such on its copyright page. So if you want the true first edition of a book called The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter, which is basically a compilation of three previously published collections, then the UK edition is for you.

If you are a Pulitzer collector however, the answer is not nearly so clear-cut. The book published in the UK in 1964 was simply a compilation of previously published stories from three previously published volumes - "Flowering Judas"; "Pale Horse, Pale Rider"; and "The Leaning Tower and Other Stories". It had nothing new, and it was not the edition that won the Pulitzer in 1966 (books published in 1964 did not qualify for the 1966 prize). The edition that won the Pulitzer was the American edition, published in 1965. The American edition contained four new stories that had not previously been published in book form. Those stories were "Virgin Vioteta", "The Martyr", "Holiday", and "The Fig Tree". That makes the American edition a very different book than the UK edition. That is why many Pulitzer collectors want the American Edition. Some collect both.

That said, below is the UK edition - the true first edition. "FIRST PUBLISHED 1964" is stated on the copyright page. The book is gray cloth with gold lettering on the spine, and red topstain. The back of the dust jacket is simply red and lacks text, design, or photos. The rear flap of the dust jacket indicates that the jacket was designed in 1963.


Picture of the 1964 first edition dust jacket for The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (UK).


Picture of the first edition copyright page for The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (UK).


Picture of dust jacket where original 35s net price is found for The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (UK).


Picture of the back dust jacket for the first edition of The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (UK).


Picture of the first edition Jonathan Cape boards for The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (UK).


Picture of the back dust jacket flap for the first edition of The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (UK).


Picture of the first edition title page for The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (UK).

Other first edition points for books by Katherine Anne Porter include: The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (U.S.), Ship of Fools.