Is My Another Country a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing has 1962 on the title page and a copyright page free of any later-printing statement
• Dial states later printings, so the copyright page is the reliable test
• Octavo, 436 pp, publisher's black cloth
• Jacket designed by Paul Bacon, with the price present at the front flap
• Two cautions
• First, dealers advertising a "first state dust jacket" for this title are describing nothing more than an unclipped priced jacket — no jacket state point beyond the presence of the price is documented in any source consulted, and the phrase should be treated as marketing rather than a point

How The Dial Press marked a first edition

• Pre-mid-1960s (classic Dial, incl. early Baldwin/Mailer firsts): first edition identified by the SAME DATE appearing on both the title page and the copyright page, with no later-printing statement. Early imprints may rea…
• Mid/late-1960s to ~1980: first printings stated 'First Printing (Year)' on the copyright page, with subsequent printings explicitly noted.

Full The Dial 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 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?

Census claim confirmed: the US Dial Press edition of 1962 is the true first and precedes the first English edition, Michael Joseph (London), 1963. Both are collected. The Michael Joseph first reuses Paul Bacon's jacket design; one UK dealer records four British printings within 1963 alone, so the printing statement on the UK copyright page must be checked as carefully as on the US. Later Dell and Penguin Modern Classics settings are first-thus, not firsts.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No Dial book-club issue is documented for this title in the sources consulted; that is an absence of evidence, not evidence of absence. Later printings are identified by the printing statement on the copyright page.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Another Country a first edition?

A first edition of Another Country by James Baldwin (The Dial Press) is identified by: First printing has 1962 on the title page and a copyright page free of any later-printing statement; Dial states later printings, so the copyright page is the reliable test.

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. Census claim confirmed: the US Dial Press edition of 1962 is the true first and precedes the first English edition, Michael Joseph (London), 1963.

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

No Dial book-club issue is documented for this title in the sources consulted; that is an absence of evidence, not evidence of absence. Later printings are identified by the printing statement on the copyright page.

I have a first edition of Another Country — 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.