Both title page and copyright page should say 1934. No printing statement should be present on the copyright page. The boards are brown cloth with paper labels.
Dust jacket is extremely rare and adds most of the value to the book. The first issue jacket had no fold-out portion on the front flap. A fold-out with reviews was introduced in later printings to promote the book.
The first edition was printed in July of 1934, and only 2,000 copies were produced (that fact is disclosed on the copyright page of the fourth printing.)
Second and third printings are stated as such on their respective copyright pages. They were printed in September of 1934. The fourth printing was produced in October of 1934, and it has a printing history of the prior printings on the copyright page. The print run of the second, third, and fourth printings were 3,000 copies for each.
After theses printings, later printings produced in 1935 have no statement of printing on the copyright page, which looks identical to the first edition copyright page. However, these later printings also state 1935 on the title page rather than 1934.
Now in November 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 1934 first edition dust jacket for Now in November. |  | The title page must say 1934. |  | No printing statement should be present on the copyright page. |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | The front flap of later issue dust jackets has a fold-out flap with reviews. The fold-out is perforated and was sometimes removed. The fold-out contains an interesting quote by John Farrar (founder of Farrar, Straus & Giroux) which is a (sort of) compliment: "I'd like to wager that first edition copies of Josephine Johnson's Now In November will one day be worth as much as those of any living American writer." He certainly underestimated the value.
|  | On the left is the 1934 first edition dust jacket, and on the right is a later printing from 1935. |  | Josephine Johnson's signature from a 1962 printing of "Now In November". Photo courtesy of Ernestoic Books.
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Judith | September 9, 2010, 9:45 pm | I have seen three "first edition" copies of "Now in November" offered for sale by book dealers [including one that supposedly sold for $3,000?!?] and none had the "fold out" review panel on the dj. All the "true first" djs were evenly cut, with regular, narrow margins, and without any evidence of perforations. The fold out review panel appears to have been added to djs for later printings and the (1935) "Pulitzer Prize" edition. Thanks for the site!! | |
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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