4 Harold Pinter first editions are documented on this shelf, from The Birthday Party (1959) to Betrayal (1978) across 3 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Harold Pinter 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 Harold Pinter copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- The Birthday Party — 1959 · Encore Publishing Co. / MethuenTrue first is the Encore Publishing Co. (London) edition in stiff printed wrappers, 1959, preceding any Methuen issue. This was Pinter's first full-length play in print. The Methuen 1960 hardback was issued as the collection 'The Birthday Party and Other Plays' (not a stand-alone title), so it is both a later printing and a different made-up book. True first is the Encore wrappers edition (1959). The 1960 Methuen hardback is the first appearance in cloth but is the collected volume 'The Birthday Party and Other Plays,' which makes it a separate first-thus rather than simply a hardback of the same book. The play famously flopped in its 1958 premiere, so early printings are scarce. No book-club edition. Distinguish the Encore wrappers (true first) from the Methuen 1960 collection in cloth; later Methuen impressions add impression statements.
- The Caretaker — 1960 · Encore Publishing Co. / MethuenTrue first edition is the Encore Publishing Co. paperback in stapled card wrappers (London, 1960), which precedes the Methuen issue of the same year by a few months. The Methuen 1960 hardback is the first hardcover, stating 'First published 1960' with no later-impression line; Methuen also issued the title in wrappers. Encore wrappers (1960) is the true first; the Methuen 1960 cloth is the first hardback (a first thus). This precedence is the key trap — many catalogue the Methuen hardback as 'the first.'. No book-club edition. The collecting distinction is Encore wrappers (priority) versus the Methuen hardback; later Methuen impressions are stated on the copyright page.
- The Homecoming — 1965 · MethuenFirst edition Methuen & Co., London, 1965. Copyright page states 'First published 1965' (later impressions add impression lines). Issued in black cloth with gilt spine titles in a pictorial dust jacket, and also in the Methuen Modern Plays wrappers; the cloth in jacket is the preferred state. 83 pp. UK Methuen 1965 is the true first and precedes the US Grove Press edition (1966). The Methuen imprint is the precedence point for Pinter's British firsts. Signed copies are inscribed trade copies. No book-club edition. First impression identified by 'First published 1965' with no later-impression statement; Grove (US) 1966 is a separate later first thus.
- Betrayal — 1978 · Eyre MethuenFirst edition Eyre Methuen, London, 1978 (Methuen Modern Plays). Copyright page states 'First published in 1978' with no later-impression line. Issued in printed wrappers and in cloth with dust jacket; verify the state by binding. A signed limited edition of 150 numbered copies (Karnac in association with Eyre Methuen) appeared simultaneously in 1978 as the premium state. UK Eyre Methuen 1978 is the true first and precedes the US Grove Press 1979 edition. Establish the first impression by the 'First published in 1978' statement. The 150-copy numbered, author-signed Karnac/Eyre Methuen issue is the limited premium state. No book-club edition. Later impressions add impression statements; the US Grove 1979 is a separate later first thus.
More Poetry, Beat & Drama shelves: Hart Crane, Henrik Ibsen, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Jack Kerouac, James Wright, John Ashbery.
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