Is My Alcools a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, achevé d'imprimer 20 April 1913, printed by E. Arrault et Cie of Tours for Mercure de France, with the wrappers printed by G. Roy of Poitiers; in-12 (roughly 184 x 115 mm), text pp. [7]–200 followed by table leaves and the printer's imprint
• The frontispiece decides a complete copy: a reproduction of Pablo Picasso's cubist portrait of Apollinaire, with the wrapper of the commercial issue carrying the notice 'avec un portrait de l'auteur par Pablo Picasso' — copies lacking both the wrapper notice and the plate exist and are not the standard commercial issue
• Grands papiers: 23 copies on Hollande van Gelder are the only large-paper copies of the edition; any other 'special paper' claim should be treated as unsupported
• The text throughout is printed without punctuation, a change Apollinaire made at proof stage in autumn 1912 — a punctuated 'Alcools' is not this edition
• Sources give a total printing of 567 copies; that figure recurs but we could not trace it to two demonstrably independent bibliographies, so treat the 23 Hollande as the firm limitation point rather than the total

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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. 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?

No precedence contest — the census note is confirmed. Alcools was published only in Paris in French, and no English edition followed for roughly half a century: the first complete English translations are William Meredith's (Doubleday, 1964) and Anne Hyde Greet's facing-page version with a foreword by Warren Ramsey (University of California Press, 1965). The 1913 Mercure de France issue is therefore the sole first-edition candidate, and every English-language 'Alcools' is a translation and a 'first thus' at best.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition. Mercure de France reprinted Alcools repeatedly across the twentieth century under the same imprint, so the imprint alone proves nothing: the 20 April 1913 achevé d'imprimer and the Arrault (Tours) printer's imprint are what separate the first from later Mercure printings. Modern Gallimard/Poésie paperbacks and the Wesleyan bilingual edition are reprints.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Alcools a first edition?

A first edition of Alcools by Guillaume Apollinaire (Mercure de France, Paris) is identified by: First edition, achevé d'imprimer 20 April 1913, printed by E.

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. No precedence contest — the census note is confirmed.

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

No book-club edition. Mercure de France reprinted Alcools repeatedly across the twentieth century under the same imprint, so the imprint alone proves nothing: the 20 April 1913 achevé d'imprimer and the Arrault (Tours) printer's imprint are what separate the first from later Mercure printings. Modern Gallimard/Poésie paperbacks and the Wesleyan bilingual edition are reprints.

I have a first edition of Alcools — 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.