Is My A Street in Bronzeville a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Harper & Brothers, New York, 1945; published 18 August 1945
• Brooks's first book
• Collation vi, 57, [1] pp
• The first printing carries "FIRST EDITION" on the copyright page together with Harper's two-letter printing code, in which the second letter denotes the year: U = 1945
• Note that the Harper code records the month and year the sheets were printed, which may precede the publication date, so the month letter varies; a code whose year letter is other than U indicates a later printing
• Bound in publisher's black cloth, decoratively stamped and lettered in gilt (dealers describe the stamping variously as brown or as orange)

How Harper & Brothers, New York 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, New York 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?

US only, and the census claim is correct. Harper & Brothers, New York, 1945 is the sole first edition of Brooks's debut; no simultaneous or precedent British edition is recorded, and there is no original-language question. Later Harper and Harper & Row printings, and the collected/selected volumes that reprint the Bronzeville sequence, are "first thus" at best — the sequence's reappearance inside a later collection is not a first edition of this title.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented for this title — a small first trade printing of poetry. The documented later-issue tells are the copyright page (loss of the "FIRST EDITION" statement, or a Harper code whose year letter is later than U) and the second-state jacket ("No. 2322" on the rear panel, no War Bonds notice).

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Street in Bronzeville a first edition?

A first edition of A Street in Bronzeville by Gwendolyn Brooks (Harper & Brothers, New York) is identified by: Harper & Brothers, New York, 1945; published 18 August 1945; Brooks's first book.

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. US only, and the census claim is correct.

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

No book-club edition is documented for this title — a small first trade printing of poetry. The documented later-issue tells are the copyright page (loss of the "FIRST EDITION" statement, or a Harper code whose year letter is later than U) and the second-state jacket ("No. 2322" on the rear panel, no War Bonds notice).

I have a first edition of A Street in Bronzeville — 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.