Is My A Sort of Life a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, The Bodley Head, London, 1971, the copyright page stating 'First published 1971.' The first issue reads 'Sir John Barrie' on page 177, an error Greene made in referring to the author J. M. Barrie; this was corrected to 'J. M. Barrie' in the second state
• Issued in a typographic dust jacket designed by Michael Harvey with the printed price present
• First volume of Greene's autobiography

How The Bodley Head marked a first edition

• Modern Bodley Head (Random House / Penguin Random House sibling) uses a printer's number line; the lowest digit present (a line ending in or containing 1) indicates a first printing

Full The Bodley Head 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?

The Bodley Head London edition is the true first; a Simon & Schuster (US) edition followed in 1971.P-010480

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue noted for the first printing.P-010481

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Sort of Life a first edition?

A first edition of A Sort of Life by Graham Greene (The Bodley Head) is identified by: First edition, The Bodley Head, London, 1971, the copyright page stating 'First published 1971.' The first issue reads 'Sir John Barrie' on page 177, an error Greene made in referring to the author J.

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 Bodley Head London edition is the true first; a Simon & Schuster (US) edition followed in 1971.

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

No book-club issue noted for the first printing.

I have a first edition of A Sort of Life — 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.