Martin Amis First Editions

• The Rachel Papers — 1973 · Jonathan CapeOriginal black cloth boards with gilt-stamped spine titling, top edge stained pink; octavo, 227 pp. Copyright page reads 'First published 1973' with no later-printing line. Amis's debut novel, which won the Somerset Maugham Award in 1974. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (1973) is the true first; the US Knopf edition followed in 1974, so the UK precedes. No notable book-club issue; later Penguin paperbacks are reprints. Watch for the later reissue, which is not the first.
• Dead Babies — 1975 · Jonathan CapeLondon: Jonathan Cape, 1975. Stated 'First published 1975' on the copyright page. Octavo, 254 pp., bound in the publisher's black cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, in the first-state dust jacket designed by Craig Dodd (a striking 1970s design) retaining the printed net price on the front flap. The light-sensitive colours on the spine panel are prone to fading, so bright unfaded spines are scarce. Amis's second…. UK Cape (1975) is the true first; the US first edition followed from Alfred A. Knopf in 1976 (blue boards with yellow cloth spine, red top edge). The retitled 'Dark Secrets' paperback is not a first edition of the text. Paperback retitlings (Dark Secrets) are reprints, not firsts.
• Success — 1978 · Jonathan CapeJonathan Cape first edition, first impression, stating 'First published 1978' with no additional printings noted on the verso; octavo (about 20.5 cm), 224 pages. Black paper-covered boards with the spine titled in gilt and the top edge of the text block stained yellow. In the first-issue dust jacket designed by Bill Botten, boldly colored in red, yellow and black, carrying the original printed net price on the…. UK Cape (1978) is the true first; the US first edition did not appear until 1987 from Harmony Books, New York, so the UK precedes by nine years. No significant book-club edition concern. The first-issue jacket carries the original printed net price on the front flap; a present, unclipped price supports the first-impression claim, though clipping alone does not disqualify a first impression.
• Other People: A Mystery Story — 1981 · Jonathan CapeUK Jonathan Cape first edition, stated 'First published 1981' on the copyright page. Bound in black cloth boards with gilt lettering to the spine; the top edge is stained blue; 223 pages, with the subtitle 'A Mystery Story' on the title page. Issued in the first-state dust jacket, which should retain its printed price to the flap (unclipped). UK Cape (1981) is the true first; the US Viking Press edition appeared the same year (1981), but the UK edition precedes. No notable book-club edition concern.
• Money: A Suicide Note — 1984 · Jonathan CapeJonathan Cape, London, 1984 (ISBN 0-224-02276-8). First edition, first printing, with no later-impression statement on the verso of the title leaf. Bound in black cloth boards with bright gilt lettering to the spine, approximately 368 pages. The original dust jacket carries its printed price on the front flap (present rather than clipped is preferred, though clipping does not change the edition) and bears a…. The Jonathan Cape London 1984 printing is the true first; Viking New York issued the first US edition in 1985. Confirm the Cape imprint, the 1984 date, and the London place of publication to distinguish the true first. Later impressions are stated on the verso; the US edition is dated 1985 and carries the Viking imprint. Book club editions lack the priced Cape jacket and are typically distinguished by a blindstamp or reduced quality of boards.
• The Moronic Inferno and Other Visits to America — 1986 · Jonathan CapeEssay collection on America (ISBN 0224023853 / 9780224023856), issued in publisher's black cloth boards with gilt-lettered spine, in a dust jacket. The first edition states first publication in 1986 with no later-impression statement; a first-issue jacket should retain its printed price. UK Cape (1986) precedes the first US edition from Viking (1987). Later printings are identified by an added impression statement.
• Einstein's Monsters — 1987 · Jonathan CapeStated 'First published 1987'; issued by Jonathan Cape in boards with dust jacket, running to 127 pages. A collection of five linked stories on nuclear themes, prefaced by the introductory essay 'Thinkability'. The first-issue jacket reproduces Pieter Bruegel the Elder's painting 'The Tower of Babel' and should retain the printed price on the flap. UK Cape (1987, 127 pp) is customarily taken as the true first; the US first edition appeared the same year (1987) from Harmony Books, New York, in a differently set text of 149 pages. The Cape edition is the customary first. No notable book-club edition concern; distinguish the UK first (Cape, 127 pp, Bruegel jacket) from the US Harmony issue by publisher, pagination and jacket art.
• London Fields — 1989 · Jonathan CapeStated 'First published 1989'; Jonathan Cape, London, in original grey cloth with gilt spine lettering and grey endpapers, 470 pages. First-state dust jacket with the printed price present on the front flap. A signed limited edition of 150 numbered copies, specially bound in quarter blue cloth over marbled boards with a glassine wrapper, was issued separately and is collected apart from the trade first. UK Cape (1989) is the true first; the US first edition followed from Harmony Books, New York (catalogued by various dealers as 1989 or 1990). The UK edition precedes. No major book-club edition concern; uncorrected proofs are a distinct collectible state, not the first edition.
• Time's Arrow: Or The Nature of the Offence — 1991 · Jonathan CapeStated 'First published 1991' by Jonathan Cape, London; issued in gilt-lettered grey cloth boards with dust jacket, 176 pages; narrative told in reverse chronology. Booker Prize shortlisted in 1991. A first-issue jacket retains the printed net price on the front flap (present, not clipped). A separate signed limited edition of 200 copies was specially bound in quarter cloth and marbled boards. UK Cape (September 1991) is the true first, preceding the US Harmony Books edition by about a month (October 1991). The US edition carries revised, Americanized text and the spelling 'Offense' in its title, so the UK first is also textually distinct. No notable book-club edition concern for the Cape first.
• Visiting Mrs Nabokov and Other Excursions — 1993 · Jonathan CapeNon-fiction collection bound in black cloth boards with gilt-lettered spine and issued in a dust jacket that should retain its printed price; 274 pages (ISBN 0224038249). First-printing copies carry the full number line; later impressions are stated. UK Cape (October 1993, ISBN 0224038249) precedes the first US edition from Harmony Books (1995). Later printings are identified by an added impression statement.
• The Information — 1995 · FlamingoFirst UK edition states 'First published in Great Britain in 1995 by Flamingo' on the copyright page; hardback in publisher's boards with the typographic Flamingo dust jacket. Note that Amis signed so many copies under his large publicity-driven advance that unsigned first-printing copies are comparatively scarce, so a signature alone does not establish priority. Both the UK Flamingo edition and the US Harmony edition appeared in 1995, with Harmony recorded as published in late April 1995. Precise month-level priority between the two is not firmly documented; collectors generally treat the UK Flamingo as the first edition, but it is most accurate to describe them as same-year issues rather than to assert a definite precedence. No major book-club edition of note for the first issue.
• Night Train — 1997 · Jonathan CapeShort novel issued in black cloth-covered boards with gilt lettering to the spine and pictorial dust jacket. First-printing copies carry the full descending number line reading 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page; the jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap. Later impressions are identified by an added impression statement and an advanced number line. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (1997) precedes the first US edition from Harmony Books (New York, 1998); the US first is a distinct setting with its own full number line ending in 1. Later printings are identified by an added impression statement or an advanced number line.
• Heavy Water and Other Stories — 1998 · Jonathan CapeUK Jonathan Cape first edition, 1998, in hardcover boards with a gilt-lettered spine and a dust jacket. The first printing is identified by the printer's key '2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1' beneath the line 'Published by Jonathan Cape 1998' on the copyright page; the jacket should retain its printed price. Later impressions advance the key or add a stated impression line. UK Jonathan Cape (1998) is the true first edition, preceding the first US edition from Harmony Books (1999). Later printings are identified by an advanced number line or an added impression statement; the priced, unclipped Cape jacket with the '2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1' key marks the first printing.
• Experience — 2000 · Jonathan CapeMemoir. Black boards, spine lettered in silver/gilt; full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; dust jacket with its printed price. Won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography. UK Jonathan Cape (published May 2000) precedes the US Talk Miramax/Hyperion edition. Cape is the true first. Later impressions state the impression number on the copyright page; the first prints a full descending number line ending in 1.
• The War Against Cliché: Essays and Reviews 1971–2000 — 2001 · Jonathan CapeEssay collection. Boards with gilt-lettered spine; full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; dust jacket with its printed price. Published 26 April 2001. UK Jonathan Cape (2001) precedes the US Talk Miramax/Hyperion edition (2001). Cape is the true first. Later impressions add an impression statement; the first carries a full descending number line ending in 1.
• Koba the Dread: Laughter and the Twenty Million — 2002 · Jonathan CapeNon-fiction, octavo, pp. viii, 306, with four plates of half-tone illustrations printed recto and verso. Original black boards, spine lettered in silver with the publisher's device in silver, dark-blue endpapers; printed by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc for Jonathan Cape. Full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; dust jacket retaining its printed price. UK Jonathan Cape (2002) and US Talk Miramax (2002) appeared the same year, with Cape generally taken as the true first. Later impressions state the impression number; the first prints a full descending number line ending in 1.
• Yellow Dog — 2003 · Jonathan CapeUK Jonathan Cape first edition, London, 2003, ISBN 0-224-05061-3 (9780224050616). Novel of roughly 340 pages, octavo. Bound in black boards with gilt-lettered spine; the copyright page carries a full descending number line terminating in 1 (first impression). First-state dust jacket retains its original printed price on the flap and is not price-clipped in the first issue. Published 4 September 2003. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (published September 2003) precedes the US Miramax edition (November 2003). Both appeared in 2003; Cape is the true first. Later Cape impressions alter the number line so it no longer descends to 1 (and may add an impression statement); the first impression carries the full descending line ending in 1. No UK book-club issue is the identification trap here.
• House of Meetings — 2006 · Jonathan CapeNovel, first published by Jonathan Cape, London, September 2006. Bound in black cloth boards stamped in silver on the spine, with red endpapers, and issued in a pictorial dust jacket that carries its printed UK price on the front flap (an unclipped jacket shows the price). Copyright page carries a full descending number line ending in 1 with no impression statement. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (2006) precedes the US Knopf edition (2007), making Cape the true first. The Canadian Knopf Canada issue also dates to 2006 but the London Cape printing is the accepted first. Later impressions add a printed impression number to the copyright page; the first prints a complete descending number line ending in 1 and no such statement.
• The Second Plane: September 11, 2001–2007 — 2008 · Jonathan CapeCollection of essays and stories. Boards with gilt-lettered spine; full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; dust jacket with its printed price. Published April 2008. UK Jonathan Cape (early 2008) precedes the US Knopf edition (2008). Both appeared in 2008; Cape is the true first. Later impressions add an impression statement; the first carries a full descending number line ending in 1.
• The Pregnant Widow — 2010 · Jonathan CapeOctavo in black boards, spine stamped in gilt, 470 pages; the first printing shows the full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page (later impressions strip the lower digits, so a fourth printing shows a line such as 4 6 8 10 9 7 5). The pictorial dust jacket has a blue-and-white spine with white lettering and should retain its printed price on the front flap. ISBN 9780224076128. UK Jonathan Cape (4 February 2010) precedes the US Knopf edition (11 May 2010). No book-club issue; later impressions remove the lower digits of the number line or state the impression.
• Lionel Asbo: State of England — 2012 · Jonathan CapeUK Jonathan Cape hardcover, 2012 (ISBN 978-0-224-09620-1), in boards with gilt-lettered spine and the full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; the original first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed price. Presence of the '1' in the number line, with no later-impression statement, confirms the first printing. UK Jonathan Cape edition (2012, ISBN 978-0-224-09620-1) is the true first, preceding the US Alfred A. Knopf edition (2012, ISBN 978-0-224-09621-8 for the UK trade paperback / US Knopf 9780307958088). Later impressions remove the lower digits of the number line or add an impression statement to the copyright page.
• The Zone of Interest — 2014 · Jonathan CapeJonathan Cape, London, 2014 (ISBN 978-0-224-09974-5). First edition, first impression, stating 'First published in Great Britain in 2014 by Jonathan Cape' with a full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Octavo, approximately viii and 310 pages, bound in blue cloth boards lettered in gilt on the spine, in the publisher's original dust jacket, which should carry its printed price on the front…. The UK Jonathan Cape 2014 printing is the true first; Alfred A. Knopf issued the first US edition later in 2014. Confirm the Cape imprint and the 'First published in Great Britain in 2014' statement to identify the true first. Later impressions remove the lower digits of the number line or state the impression on the copyright page; the US edition carries the Knopf imprint.
• The Rub of Time: Essays and Reportage 1986–2016 — 2017 · Jonathan CapeFirst UK edition, Jonathan Cape, London, 2017 (ISBN 9780224076111). Bound in black cloth with the spine lettered in silver; issued in the original dust jacket, which should retain the printed price and is not distinguished by price-clipping. First printings carry a full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; second and later impressions remove the lower digits or state the impression, and…. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (21 September 2017) precedes the US Knopf edition (2018). The Cape issue carries the subtitle 'Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump. Essays and Reportage, 1994–2016.'. No book-club edition affecting first-printing identification; later Cape impressions are told apart by the shortened number line.
• Inside Story — 2020 · Jonathan CapeAutobiographical novel, octavo, in black cloth boards lettered in silver on the spine, with blue endpapers. First edition, first impression has the full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page and the photographic dust jacket bearing the printed net price and ISBN 978-1-78733-275-1; the priced jacket is a key point and copies are typically unclipped. UK Jonathan Cape (24 September 2020) is the true first; the US Knopf edition followed in 2020. Later impressions remove the lower digits of the number line or state the impression on the copyright page.

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