# Is "Another Time" by W. H. Auden a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Another Time by W. H. Auden (Random House, 1940) is identified by: Contains the first book appearances of September 1, 1939 and Musee des Beaux Arts. The US Random House issue (February 1940) precedes the UK Faber issue (June 1940), making the American printing the true first for this title.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Contains the first book appearances of September 1, 1939 and Musee des Beaux Arts
- The US Random House issue appeared in February 1940, ahead of the UK Faber issue (June 1940), so the Random House printing is the true first
- First printing carries the Random House imprint with no later-printing or added-printing statement on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | W. H. Auden |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 1940 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Contains the first book appearances of September 1, 1939 and Musee des Beaux Arts |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Contains the first book appearances of September 1, 1939 and Musee des Beaux Arts. The US Random House issue appeared in February 1940, ahead of the UK Faber issue (June 1940), so the Random House printing is the true first. First printing carries the Random House imprint with no later-printing or added-printing statement on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
The US Random House issue (February 1940) precedes the UK Faber issue (June 1940), making the American printing the true first for this title. This is the exception to the usual Auber-Faber-first pattern for Auden in this period.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club issue of note; later printings add an extra printing statement to the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Another Time* by W. H. Auden a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/another-time
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.