The first edition of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published in 1925 by Charles Scribner’s Sons in New York. Often said to be the greatest American novel of the 20th century.
First Edition Points:
- Published by Charles Scribner’s Sons
- Date on 1925 on title page
- Scribner seal on copyright page
- On page 60, line 16 is the word “chatter” (later states read “echolalia”)
- On page 119, line 22 is the word “northern” (later changed to “southern”)
- On page 205 , lines 9-10 is the word “sick in tired” (later changed to “sickantired”)
- On page 211, lines 7-8 is the words “Union Street Station” (later states read “Union Station”)
- On back of dust jacket line 14 has a lowercase “j” in “jay Gatsby” which is hand-corrected in ink (on most copies) or overstamped (a few copies) with a capital “J”.
- Second state had the error corrected on the dust jacket.
- First UK edition published by Chatto and Windus has “Published 1926” on copyright page.
Value:
First State with Dust Jacket: Very Good, $100,000+, Fine, hard to say but maybe as high as $250,000
First State without Dust Jacket: Very Good, $4,000-5,000, Fine, $12,500+
Second State with Dust Jacket: Very Good, $50,000+, Fine, $100,000+
Second State without Dust Jacket: Very Good, $1,750, Fine, $4,500
First UK Edition with Dust Jacket: Very Good, $12,500, Fine, $25,000
First UK Edition without Dust Jacket: Very Good, $2000
First Editions on Abebooks and Ebay
More Photos:
References:
Bruccoli, Matthew J. F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Descriptive Bibliography. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1987. Revised Edition.