Is My A Small Town in Germany a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The Heinemann first states "First published 1968" on the copyright page and is bound in burgundy/maroon cloth-covered boards with gilt lettering to the spine
• ISBN 0 434 10930 4
• Two independent ABA/ILAB-level dealer collations agree on the cloth colour and the gilt spine titling, and on the copyright-page wording, which is the primary check
• Unclipped jackets retain the price at the front flap; note that export copies exist with the jacket priced for the Australian market rather than in sterling, and these are export issues of the same first printing, not a separate edition
• Beware assuming a top-edge stain or a specific jacket designer for the Heinemann issue — neither is corroborated in the sources consulted, and no reliable first-state text error is documented for this title

How William 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 William 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 American 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?

Census claim CONFIRMED, but the margin is narrow and should be stated honestly. The true first is William Heinemann, London, October 1968. The first American edition is Coward-McCann, New York, published 21 October 1968 (per the Kirkus review record) — a distinct setting in orange cloth with gilt lettering to front board and spine, red top-stain, jacket designed by Lennie Slonevsky, referenced as Ahearn APG 006c. The two are near-simultaneous, and precedence rests principally on the fact that the Coward-McCann copyright page states "First American Edition": Coward-McCann's documented post-1935 practice was to apply that statement only to books first published outside the United States and to make no statement on books originating in the US, which places the Heinemann edition first. Both editions are collected; the Coward-McCann is the first US appearance.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A US book-club issue of the Coward-McCann setting is common: unpriced at the jacket flap, blind-stamped or dot-marked to the rear board, smaller and bulked on cheaper paper. A large-type edition dated 1968 also circulates and is sometimes mislisted as a first American edition — it is a separate later setting and is not the first. Later Heinemann impressions add an impression line beneath the "First published 1968" statement.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Small Town in Germany a first edition?

A first edition of A Small Town in Germany by John le Carré (William Heinemann) is identified by: The Heinemann first states "First published 1968" on the copyright page and is bound in burgundy/maroon cloth-covered boards with gilt lettering to the spine; ISBN 0 434 10930 4.

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. Census claim CONFIRMED, but the margin is narrow and should be stated honestly.

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

A US book-club issue of the Coward-McCann setting is common: unpriced at the jacket flap, blind-stamped or dot-marked to the rear board, smaller and bulked on cheaper paper. A large-type edition dated 1968 also circulates and is sometimes mislisted as a first American edition — it is a separate later setting and is not the first. Later Heinemann impressions add an impression line beneath the "First published 1968" statement.

I have a first edition of A Small Town in Germany — 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.