Is My A High Wind in Jamaica a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the US Harper & Brothers (New York) edition of 1929, published under the ORIGINAL title 'The Innocent Voyage,' with a 'First Edition' statement on the copyright page
• Binding is quarter navy-blue cloth stamped in gilt over orange-and-blue patterned paper-covered boards, with patterned endpapers
• It appeared 13 March 1929, ahead of the London Chatto & Windus edition (September 1929) that introduced the now-familiar title; do NOT mistake the 1944 Limited Editions Club / Heritage Press printing illustrated by Lynd Ward for the first

How Harper & Brothers marked a first edition

• 1912-1949: month/year letter code on copyright page. Month: A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar, D=Apr, E=May, F=Jun, G=Jul, H=Aug, I=Sep, K=Oct, L=Nov, M=Dec (J skipped).
• From 1922: also began printing 'First Edition' on the copyright page in addition to the code.

Full Harper & Brothers 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?

Classic title-change trap: the US Harper 'The Innocent Voyage' (New York, March 1929) is the world first and precedes the UK Chatto & Windus 'A High Wind in Jamaica' (London, September 1929). Both titles are collected; Chatto also issued a signed limited edition of 150 numbered copies in quarter buckram with hand-blocked paper boards, top edge gilt, uncut. The UK trade edition under the 'A High Wind in Jamaica' title is a 'first thus,' not the world first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later American printings and the 1944 Lynd Ward-illustrated Limited Editions Club / Heritage Press edition are not the first; the 1929 Harper first is identified by the 'First Edition' statement and the quarter blue-cloth / patterned-board binding. Reprints generally carry the retitled 'A High Wind in Jamaica' and lack the Harper first-edition statement.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A High Wind in Jamaica a first edition?

A first edition of A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes (Harper & Brothers) is identified by: The true first is the US Harper & Brothers (New York) edition of 1929, published under the ORIGINAL title 'The Innocent Voyage,' with a 'First Edition' statement on the copyright page.

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. Classic title-change trap: the US Harper 'The Innocent Voyage' (New York, March 1929) is the world first and precedes the UK Chatto & Windus 'A High Wind in Jamaica' (London, September 1929).

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

Later American printings and the 1944 Lynd Ward-illustrated Limited Editions Club / Heritage Press edition are not the first; the 1929 Harper first is identified by the 'First Edition' statement and the quarter blue-cloth / patterned-board binding. Reprints generally carry the retitled 'A High Wind in Jamaica' and lack the Harper first-edition statement.

I have a first edition of A High Wind in Jamaica — 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.