Is My Ariel a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Faber first (Tabor A5a), published 11 March 1965 in an impression of about 3,100 copies; dust jacket designed by Berthold Wolpe
• The 1965 date stands alone with no 'first published' qualifier beyond it; later Faber impressions are identified by added impression statements on the copyright page
• This is the volume Ted Hughes assembled from Plath's papers, and the Faber setting carries no editorial foreword

How Faber and Faber marked a first edition

• First printings state "First published in [Year]" (often "First published in mcmxxxx") on the copyright/verso page, with no list of later impressions
• Prior to 1968 the year was set in ROMAN NUMERALS (e.g. 'First published in mcmliv'); from 1968 onward Arabic numerals were used — a key dating tell

Full Faber and Faber 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 US 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?

The Faber (London) 1965 edition is the true first. The first US edition is Harper & Row, New York, 1966, which adds an introduction by Robert Lowell (absent from the UK first) and prints three poems not present in the UK Faber edition; the first US printing is identified by the 'D-Q' code on the copyright page. Both editions follow Ted Hughes's reordering and selection; neither matches Plath's intended manuscript, later published as 'Ariel: The Restored Edition' (Faber / HarperCollins, 2004, foreword by Frieda Hughes) — a 'first thus,' not the true first.P-037314

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No significant book-club edition. Tell the UK true first from the US first by the introduction (Robert Lowell's, US only) and the imprint: UK Faber 1965 versus Harper & Row 1966 (US first-printing copyright page coded 'D-Q,' priced jacket present at the flap). Later printings of either carry impression statements.P-037315

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Ariel a first edition?

A first edition of Ariel by Sylvia Plath (Faber and Faber) is identified by: Faber first (Tabor A5a), published 11 March 1965 in an impression of about 3,100 copies; dust jacket designed by Berthold Wolpe.

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. The Faber (London) 1965 edition is the true first.

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

No significant book-club edition. Tell the UK true first from the US first by the introduction (Robert Lowell's, US only) and the imprint: UK Faber 1965 versus Harper & Row 1966 (US first-printing copyright page coded 'D-Q,' priced jacket present at the flap). Later printings of either carry impression statements.

I have a first edition of Ariel — 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.