Is My A Boy's Will a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Frost's first book, published in London by David Nutt in April 1913
• About 1,000 sets of sheets were bound and sold over roughly three decades (Nutt failed after the First World War), in four variant bindings known to Frost collectors as A-D: (A) the publisher's original bronzed-brown pebble-grain cloth, gilt-lettered on the upper board, bound by the Leighton-Straker Bookbinding Co. — the genuine first issue, no more than about 350 copies and perhaps as few as 284
• (B) cream vellum paper-covered boards stamped in red
• (C) cream linen-grain paper wrappers stamped in black with an eight-petalled flower device
• (D) as C but with a four-petalled flower device
• Only Binding A is the true first issue; the exact sequence of B-D is not firmly fixed

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
4. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The London David Nutt edition of 1913 is the true first edition worldwide; the U.S. Henry Holt edition followed in 1915. Only the bronzed-brown pebble-cloth Binding A is the genuine first issue — the other three binding states are later issues of the same 1913 sheets.P-037182

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book club. Distinguished from the 1915 Holt American edition by the London Nutt imprint and, for the first issue, the bronzed pebble cloth of Binding A. A quick tell: the 1915 Holt title page describes Frost as 'AUTHOR OF NORTH OF BOSTON' — impossible on the genuine 1913 London first, since North of Boston did not appear until 1914. Later Holt and anthology printings carry U.S. imprints absent from the 1913 London first.P-037183

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Boy's Will a first edition?

A first edition of A Boy's Will by Robert Frost (David Nutt) is identified by: Frost's first book, published in London by David Nutt in April 1913.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The London David Nutt edition of 1913 is the true first edition worldwide; the U.S.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book club. Distinguished from the 1915 Holt American edition by the London Nutt imprint and, for the first issue, the bronzed pebble cloth of Binding A. A quick tell: the 1915 Holt title page describes Frost as 'AUTHOR OF NORTH OF BOSTON' — impossible on the genuine 1913 London first, since North of Boston did not appear until 1914. Later Holt and anthology printings carry U.S. imprints absent from the 1913 London first.

I have a first edition of A Boy's Will — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.