The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J. D. Salinger, first published by Little, Brown and Company in the United States on 16 July 1951; Hamish Hamilton issued the first UK edition in London the same year. Teenager Holden Caulfield recalls drifting around New York after being expelled from school.
- Editions tracked
- 2
- First published
- Little, Brown and Company, 1951
- First UK edition
- Hamish Hamilton, 1951
Spot the edition: Copyright page: states "First Edition" (first printing) Full identification guide
Which edition do you have?
Editions
First UK and first US editions compared
Both appeared in the same year: check each edition's page for which came first.
Pictures of the book
Freely licensed pictures of the work. They are not necessarily the edition you hold: check the points on each edition's page.
More by J. D. Salinger
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The Most Valuable First Editions to Look For at Home
The first editions most often found in ordinary homes and worth real money are modern classics in their original dust …
Read the guide →7 min readHow to Identify a First Edition
To identify a first edition, check that your copy is the first printing of the first edition. Read the copyright …
Read the guide →6 min readBook Condition Grading: Fine to Poor Explained
Book condition grading uses a six-step trade scale: Fine, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. Collectors grade the …
Read the guide →Frequently asked questions
How many editions of The Catcher in the Rye are there?
We track 2 editions of The Catcher in the Rye. Each has its own page with how to identify it.
Where these facts come from
- The Catcher in the Rye, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- The Catcher in the Rye (Q183883), Wikidata (wikidata.org)
- The Catcher in the Rye, First UK Edition (1951), Rare Books Ireland (rarebooks.ie)
Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 17 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.