3 Georgette Heyer first editions are documented on this shelf, from These Old Shades (1926) to Frederica (1965) across 3 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Georgette Heyer title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.
Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a Georgette Heyer copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- These Old Shades — 1926 · William HeinemannUK first, William Heinemann, London, published 21 October 1926 (first printing of 4,500 copies) — the early Heyer Georgian romance that established her reputation. Identify by the Heinemann imprint, the 1926 date with no later-impression line, and the period binding and dust jacket; jacketed first impressions are very scarce. The UK Heinemann edition is the true first and precedes the US edition. An early, scarce Heyer high spot. No book-club issue of consequence; later Heinemann reprints carry impression statements. Within its first decade the title was reprinted nearly thirty times, so reprints are far more common than the 1926 first impression.
- Regency Buck — 1935 · William HeinemannHeinemann, London, 1935 first edition — Heyer's first novel set in the Regency period, effectively the founding text of the Regency-romance subgenre. UK cloth with Heinemann device; the verso of the title carries no later reprint statement. The original 1935 dust jacket shows a pugilist illustration on the spine, a feature present only on the first edition. UK Heinemann 1935 is the true first; the US (Doubleday Doran) edition follows as a separate first-in-territory. Later Heinemann reprints reused the front-cover design but dropped the spine pugilist and added reprint statements on the verso; the US edition is not the true first.
- Frederica — 1965 · The Bodley HeadUK first published by The Bodley Head, London, 1965 (issued September 1965). Identify by the Bodley Head imprint, the 1965 date with no later-impression statement, green cloth boards with gilt titles, and the original illustrated UK dust jacket. Heyer, who effectively founded the Regency romance, is collected in her Bodley Head firsts. The UK Bodley Head edition is the true first; the US edition (E. P. Dutton, New York, 1965) followed and is a separate, slightly later printing. For Heyer generally the UK firsts (Heinemann, then Bodley Head) precede the US editions. No notable book-club issue; the traps are the later US Dutton edition and book-club-style reprints. Verify the Bodley Head imprint and a first-impression copyright statement.
More Genre & Specialty shelves: Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, William Goldman.
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