# Is "1914 and Other Poems" by Rupert Brooke a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of 1914 and Other Poems by Rupert Brooke (Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd., London, 1915) is identified by: London: Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd., 1915. UK true first: Sidgwick & Jackson, London, 16 June 1915, Brooke's posthumous second book (he died 23 April 1915).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- London: Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd., 1915
- CORRECTION to the census date: the first impression of 1,000 copies was published on 16 June 1915 (Keynes 6), NOT May 1915; printed at the Complete Press, West Norwood
- The June date is independently corroborated by a recorded presentation copy inscribed by Edward Marsh on 4 June 1915 and described as inscribed before publication
- 63, [1] pp., small octavo, approx
- 192 x 130 mm
- Photogravure frontispiece portrait of Brooke in profile after Sherril Schell
- Publisher imprint reads Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd., London

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rupert Brooke |
| Publisher | Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd., London |
| Year | 1915 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | London: Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd., 1915 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
London: Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd., 1915. CORRECTION to the census date: the first impression of 1,000 copies was published on 16 June 1915 (Keynes 6), NOT May 1915; printed at the Complete Press, West Norwood. The June date is independently corroborated by a recorded presentation copy inscribed by Edward Marsh on 4 June 1915 and described as inscribed before publication. 63, [1] pp., small octavo, approx. 192 x 130 mm. Photogravure frontispiece portrait of Brooke in profile after Sherril Schell. Bound in publisher's black cloth (a minority of dealers describe the cloth as blue — the point is disputed and should not be relied on alone) with a printed paper label on the smooth spine. The publisher supplied a spare spine label tipped in at the rear on publication; its presence is a good indicator of an early, unsophisticated copy, though it is frequently missing. Critical caution: the book was reprinted immediately and repeatedly — the 24th impression had appeared by June 1918 — so a 1915 title-page date proves nothing on its own; later impressions carry an impression statement.

## Is this the true first?
UK true first: Sidgwick & Jackson, London, 16 June 1915, Brooke's posthumous second book (he died 23 April 1915). CORRECTION to the census note: the American edition was not a regularly published Doubleday book. Doubleday, Page & Co. (Garden City, New York, 1915) printed only 87 copies in anticipation of securing the American rights, and those copies carry a bound-in publisher's leaf stating that the edition was not regularly issued; the American rights went instead to the John Lane Company, New York, which published the authorised US edition in 1915. Both American printings are collected but neither displaces the London first: the Doubleday 87-copy printing is a scarce anticipation/copyright issue, and the John Lane New York 1915 is the American trade first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition documented for the 1915 first. The traps are the many rapid Sidgwick & Jackson impressions — second and third followed within weeks and the 24th by June 1918 — each of which states its impression on the verso; the two American 1915 printings described above; and the posthumous "Collected Poems" volumes, which are first thus, not first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *1914 and Other Poems* by Rupert Brooke a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/1914-and-other-poems
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.