Is My An Experiment in Criticism a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first impression, 1961, Cambridge University Press
• Small octavo of [v], 143 pages, bound in dark blue cloth with the author, title and publisher block-stamped in black on the spine
• Issued in the publisher's pictorial dust jacket printed in white lettering against a red and black checkered/panelled ground
• The jacket was printed with both an American price at the top of the front flap and a British price at the bottom
• British trade copies commonly have the American price clipped away by the publisher, so a clipped top corner is a period trait rather than a later interference
• The correct printed British price should be present, though price-clipping is common on surviving jackets and does not by itself demote a copy

How Cambridge University Press marked a first edition

• Edition statement on title/copyright page
• Number line (modern era)

Full Cambridge University Press 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 UK 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?

UK Cambridge University Press is the true first (1961); text derives from Lewis's Cambridge lectures. First impression carries no statement of a later printing on the verso of the title page.P-003833

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Cambridge printings and paperback issues are distinct from the 1961 first impression; watch for added printing statements on the copyright page and reset or price-less jackets.P-003834

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of An Experiment in Criticism a first edition?

A first edition of An Experiment in Criticism by C.S. Lewis (Cambridge University Press) is identified by: First edition, first impression, 1961, Cambridge University Press.

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. UK Cambridge University Press is the true first (1961); text derives from Lewis's Cambridge lectures.

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

Later Cambridge printings and paperback issues are distinct from the 1961 first impression; watch for added printing statements on the copyright page and reset or price-less jackets.

I have a first edition of An Experiment in Criticism — 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.