Is My A Grain of Wheat a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition 1967, published by Heinemann in London as African Writers Series number 36, bylined 'James Ngugi' (before the author adopted the Gikuyu form of his name)
• Issued in both cloth and wrappers
• The author later revised the text for the 1986 edition, so the 1967 printing carries the original, unrevised text

How Heinemann marked a first edition

• From the 1920s onward: "First published [Year]" or "First published in Great Britain [Year]" stated on the copyright page, with later impressions noted beneath
• First printing = statement present AND no list of subsequent impressions

Full Heinemann first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. 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.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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?

Heinemann London 1967 is the true first edition with the original text, under the byline 'James Ngugi'. The 1986 Heinemann edition is a revised text and is a separate 'first thus'. The US Macmillan issue follows the London first.P-013785

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A 1986 revised-text edition, or any copy bylined 'Ngugi wa Thiong'o' rather than 'James Ngugi', indicates a later edition. Distinguish the 1967 original text from the 1986 revision.P-013786

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Grain of Wheat a first edition?

A first edition of A Grain of Wheat by James Ngugi (Ngugi wa Thiong'o) (Heinemann) is identified by: First edition 1967, published by Heinemann in London as African Writers Series number 36, bylined 'James Ngugi' (before the author adopted the Gikuyu form of his name).

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. Heinemann London 1967 is the true first edition with the original text, under the byline 'James Ngugi'.

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

A 1986 revised-text edition, or any copy bylined 'Ngugi wa Thiong'o' rather than 'James Ngugi', indicates a later edition. Distinguish the 1967 original text from the 1986 revision.

I have a first edition of A Grain of Wheat — 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.