First edition has 1921 on both the title page and the copyright page with no other printing stated. Dust jacket is extremely rare and adds most of the value to the book.
There is a first state of the first printing where the words "you" and "why" are transposed on page 419, line 14. It reads "I can't see you why don't wear more colour,"
There are two states of the first edition dust jacket. The back panel of the first state dust jacket has a caricature of Tarkington appearing on the left and is separated by a horizontal red line from the assessment and listing of some of the Tarkington books to that date. The back panel was changed to a second that has "Unanimous!" praise for the novel itself.
Alice Adams book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
To find the market value for this book, click on the pre-filled eBay, AbeBooks, or Biblio links to the right and look for comparable listings that have all of these first edition points.
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 | Picture of the 1921 first edition dust jacket for Alice Adams. |  | Picture of the first edition copyright page for Alice Adams. |  | Picture of dust jacket where original $1.75 price is found for Alice Adams. |  | Picture of the back dust jacket for the first edition of Alice Adams. |  | Picture of the first edition Doubleday, Page boards for Alice Adams. |  | Picture of the back dust jacket flap for Alice Adams. |  | Picture of the title page for Alice Adams. |  | The words "you" and "why" are transposed on page 419, line 14. |  | Rickie Boze has identified two states of the first edition. The first state's copyright page has 1921 printed above the rest of the text. The second state has a normal date. Rickie was kind enough to post picture on the comments section. This comparison photo was created from his photos. He notes that both states he has found have the typo on page 419.
|  | This is the back panel from second state dust jacket. It features reviews of the book with the headline "Unanimous!" |
Bo | October 14, 2008, 8:13 pm | I believe the true first issue has First Edition on the spine of the DJ (?) | | Tom | October 15, 2008, 8:34 am | First Edition is on the spine? or the flap? | | Rickie Boze | March 1, 2009, 12:15 pm | About 10 years ago I searched out any and all copies of Alice Adams and noticed that there are 2 issues that could be considered 1st edition 1st printings. It deals with an error on the date of the copyright page the 192 is elevated with the 1 left level with the remaining text of the line. At first glance it appears as the number 1 was dropped down, but studying it closer, its the 192 that is out of place. Upon finding the first one out of place I guessed it was a single copy error, so I kept searching for another, and found 2 more. They all have the error on page 419. And I can't find any other errors between the two issues. This maybe the last time this will be seen in public, since I'm about to sell my Alice Adams collection to a private collector, I wanted others to know and let all of you decide what is what, other attempts have fallen on deaf ears and eyes. | | Rickie Boze | March 1, 2009, 12:30 pm | Wanted to add a second photo from a 2nd copy of the error since I noticed the comma was different. Keep in mind the 3 total photos have the same error on page 419, only difference is the date on the copyright page. | | Rickie Boze | March 1, 2009, 2:45 pm | Here's a better photo of a better main title page, you can post. | | Rickie Boze | March 3, 2009, 6:22 pm | I am looking at a first issue DJ pictured on ebay, showing its spine area and talking with the owner there is no state FIRST EDITION anywhere. | | Tom | March 7, 2009, 8:01 am | Rickie,
This is really helpful. Thanks. I will check my copies. | | Ralph Schultz | February 7, 2010, 11:27 am | Tom,
I have a copy that meets your points as a first edition, second state, but it has the word order error corrected. As there is no reference to any additional printing, would this be considered a third state? | |
Disclaimer: This website is intended to help guide you and give you insight into what to look for when identifying first editions. The information is compiled from the experience of reputable collectors and dealers in the industry. Gathering and updating information about these books is more an art than a science, and new points of issue are sometimes discovered that may contradict currently accepted identification points. This means that the information presented here may not always be 100% accurate. If you spot a mistake, drop us an e-mail and we will do our best to investigate and correct it.
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