Is My Arrowsmith a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the signed limited edition, numbered and limited to 500 copies on handmade paper, signed by the author, quarter-bound in white buckram and blue boards with a paper spine label, top edges gilt, with an extra spine label tipped in, issued in glassine within a blue cardboard slipcase
• The first trade edition is the second printing: it is so identified on the copyright page and was issued in orange lettering on blue boards in a dust jacket
• Lewis declined the Pulitzer for this novel

How Harcourt, Brace & Company marked a first edition

• 1921-1931: no statement on first printings; the first-edition notice (when later adopted) was simply absent, so rely on no later-printing notice.

Full Harcourt, Brace & Company 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?

US Harcourt, Brace 1925 is the true first, with precedence belonging to the 500-copy signed limited edition on handmade paper. The trade edition follows and its copyright page identifies it as the first trade edition (effectively the second printing).P-029268

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Grosset & Dunlap reprints are clearly marked and later. No major book-club edition of note.P-029269

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Arrowsmith a first edition?

A first edition of Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis (Harcourt, Brace & Company) is identified by: The true first is the signed limited edition, numbered and limited to 500 copies on handmade paper, signed by the author, quarter-bound in white buckram and blue boards with a paper spine label, top edges gilt, with an extra spine label tipped in, issued in glassine within a blue cardboard slipcase.

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. US Harcourt, Brace 1925 is the true first, with precedence belonging to the 500-copy signed limited edition on handmade paper.

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

Grosset & Dunlap reprints are clearly marked and later. No major book-club edition of note.

I have a first edition of Arrowsmith — 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.