The first edition of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell was published in 1936 by The Macmillan Company in New York. It consisted of only about 5000 copies. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction the next year. It went on to at least 100 more printings and is one of the bestsellers of all time.
First Edition Points:
- Date of 1936 on title page (if there is no date on the title page it is a book club edition)
- “Published May, 1936” on copyright page
- “GONE WITH THE WIND” in the right column on the rear panel of the dust jacket
In the second printing “GONE WITH THE WIND” was moved to the very top of the left column
In later printings there were reviews of Gone with the Wind on the rear panel
Early printings can identified to the printing by counting the printings on the copyright page:
“Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1936 [2nd].
Reprinted June (twice) [3rd & 4th], July (three times) [5th, 6th, 7th],
August (six times) [8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th], September, 1936 (four times) [14th, 15th, 16th, 17th],
October, 1936 (six times) [18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd]”
Making the example I used a 23rd printing. I have labeled the printings in brackets to explain how to identify which printing you have. For even later printings just continue counting each printing mentioned and remember that May isn’t listed so count that first than June and so on. Printings continue to be labeled this way into November, December, January of 1937, February, March, April, the years 1938, 1939, 1940 and so on.
The Photoplay Movie Edition, which was labeled “Motion Picture Edition” was issued in January, 1939.
It was illustrated with stills from the movie starring Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh. It was issued both in wraps (softcover) and in hardcover with dust jacket.
Book Club editions generally have less pages (while the trade edition had 1037 pages) and do not state any printings on copyright page. If it has the date in roman numerals it is a book club edition.
The first edition book is often sold with later printing or facsimile dust jackets. Watch out for those who state that their book is a First Edition without providing these points.
Value:
First Edition of Dust Jacket:
Fine, Perhaps $40,000 but very hard to find a Fine/Fine example, if signed with good provenance $100,000
Very Good, $6000-$7500, if signed $15,000
First Edition without Dust Jacket
Very Good, $750-$1000, if signed $4,000
The Second Printing “Published June, 1936” is worth about $500 in dust jacket, if signed $2,000
Other early printings in dust jacket generally sell for between $50 and $150, without dust jacket between $10 and $40
Any later printings with Mitchell’s signature would be worth at least $1,000.
Motion Picture Edition (December, 1939) Paperback is worth about $35 and the hardcover with dust jacket is worth at least $250 for the first printing of this edition.
The Grosset & Dunlap (1939) photoplay edition is worth about $100 in a nice dust jacket.
Many collectors also buy each individual printing they can find so they can have a complete set of the printings of Gone with the Wind. Several of these printings are harder to find in dust jacket than the First Printing.
First Editions on Abebooks and Ebay
Many collectors also buy Gone with the Wind memorabilia and collectibles such as plates, figurines, movie posters, documents or photos signed by Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, lamps, dolls, etc. If you are interested in these type of items I would suggest you search eBay. It’s probably the best place to find those type of items.