Is My A Writer's Notebook a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Published in 1949 in both London (William Heinemann) and New York (Doubleday & Co.)
• Each publisher issued an ordinary trade edition and a signed, numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies
• Per the Stott bibliography, the Heinemann limited edition (blue cloth, vellum spine, leather label, top edge gilt) was issued simultaneously with but printed after the Heinemann trade edition

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. 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.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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?

Both UK Heinemann and US Doubleday editions are dated 1949; reliable sources do not firmly fix international precedence, so the Heinemann edition is best described as the British first rather than a confirmed world first. Each has a separate signed limited issue of 1,000 copies.P-032361

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Distinguish the ordinary trade edition from the signed, numbered limited of 1,000 copies; the limited was printed after the trade edition at Heinemann.P-032362

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Writer's Notebook a first edition?

A first edition of A Writer's Notebook by W. Somerset Maugham (William Heinemann) is identified by: Published in 1949 in both London (William Heinemann) and New York (Doubleday & Co.).

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. Both UK Heinemann and US Doubleday editions are dated 1949; reliable sources do not firmly fix international precedence, so the Heinemann edition is best described as the British first rather than a confirmed world first.

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

Distinguish the ordinary trade edition from the signed, numbered limited of 1,000 copies; the limited was printed after the trade edition at Heinemann.

I have a first edition of A Writer's Notebook — 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.