William Faulkner

Welcome to my William Faulkner Catalog. The listings will be updated regularly

Unless otherwise stated all books are first printings of American first hardbound trade editions; all periodicals contain the first American appearance of the piece listed, predating any book appearance ; and all ephemera and autographs are guaranteed authentic.

An "edition" is the way a book looks coming off the printing press; "printing" is the number of times the press has been put to work. An "edition" can go through many "printings" - there can be a "first edition, 9th printing." You get a new "edition" when a new set-up of type is used or when there has been a substantial change of the text or redesign of the book. As a rule with very few exceptions for a book to be collectible it has to be not just the first edition but the first printing of that first edition. Much confusion is caused by sellers saying only "first edition" as an abbreviation. When "first edition" is used without a mention of printing it is supposed to mean the first printing. Unfortunately, a lot of sellers either accidentally or intentionally say "first edition" and nothing more to refer to any printing of that edition. That is misleading, and sometimes dishonest. Unless you know a dealer or that person's reputation rules out doubt someone thinking about buying a "first edition" should always make sure that the book is in fact the first printing. In this catalog "first edition" always means the first printing of the first edition.

Because the layout of the book and the body of the text is the same for all printings of an edition a later printing can generally be used for quotations and citations. This means that scholars can usually rely in their work on any printing of the first edition, thereby saving a considerable amount of money. This might not always be the case, an inquiry should be made in advance.

Another concern is the dust jacket. To be collectible a "first edition" should have a dust jacket that came with it at the time the book was printed. Dust jackets are generally redesigned more frequently than books. Sometimes changes are small (a single digit changes), sometimes they are obvious. There might be a different dust jacket for every printing of a book. To make it more confusing, sometimes a dust jacket can change even during the course of a single printing. That is, there might be two different dust jackets that were used for the first printing of the first edition of a book. The different ways a dust jacket looks are called "states" - there might be a first state dust jacket, second state jacket, and so on. An "edition" of a book can be properly wrapped in any dust jacket that had been used by the publisher for that edition. Though this is not common a first edition book might be available in either a first or second state dust jacket. As a general rule the most collectible copy will be a first edition, first printing in a first state dust jacket. A buyer should try to make sure that the book has a correct dust jacket. Unfortunately, even many responsible dealers do not know how to correctly identify all first state dust jackets - innocent mistakes are common. Most of the value of a book is in the dust jacket, not the book itself. So, to avoid spending a lot of money and getting less than you are paying for expensive books in dust jackets should be purchased only from dealers who guarantee what they are selling, and in whom you have confidence that you will never need their guarantee. In this catalog the dust jacket on a "first edition" book will always be the first state unless otherwise stated.

This catalog is divided into 15 sections (not counting this introduction section). In each section condition of an item is described in the second column from the right. Books and records will have two grades: the first is for the book or record itself, the second is for the dust jacket or record sleeve, with a "/" in between. So, (book condition/ jacket condition). Things that do not have an outer cover, such as a paperback or a magazine, will just have one grade.

Some grades include the word "minus" or "plus." I mean this to indicate an item that is a little worse or better than a solid Very Good (for instance), but not quite as bad or good as the next grade over.