Always Coming Home (1985) Signed First Edition Reference

Always Coming Home is Le Guin’s most experimental work — less a novel than an anthropological archive of the Kesh, a people living in the Napa Valley of a far-future California. Published by Harper & Row in 1985, the book includes stories, poems, songs, plays, recipes, maps, and descriptions of customs, accompanied by Margaret Chodos’ illustrations and, in the original edition, a cassette tape of Kesh music composed by Todd Barton.

First Edition Identification

Publisher: Harper & Row, New York Publication date: 1985 Format: Hardcover in dust jacket, with cassette tape in rear pocket

The first edition includes the cassette tape of Kesh music. Copies without the tape are incomplete and command lower prices.

Signed Copy Market Values

• Signed first edition with cassette, fine/fine: $200–$600
• Signed first edition without cassette: $100–$300
• Unsigned first edition with cassette: $30–$75

The cassette tape is a crucial component — its presence or absence significantly affects value. A complete first edition with tape represents one of the most ambitious physical book-objects in Le Guin’s bibliography.