2 Nella Larsen first editions are documented on this shelf, from Quicksand (1928) to Passing (1929). Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Nella Larsen 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 Nella Larsen copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.

Quicksand — 1928 · Alfred A. KnopfOctavo (approx. 189 x 130 mm), bound in publisher's orange cloth ruled in dark blue and lettered in gilt on the spine and upper board. Knopf's practice before 1933/34 was to carry no first-edition statement: the first printing's copyright page bears a "Published [month], 1928"-style note and nothing more, while every later printing is explicitly stated ("Second Printing," "Third Printing," etc.). Identification…. US Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1928 is the only first — Larsen's first novel. No contemporaneous separate British edition was traced in the sources consulted; period Knopf imprint lines can read New York and London, but that reflects the imprint, not a distinct UK edition, and does not create a competing first. No book-club or reprint issue of the 1928 Knopf sheets is documented in the sources consulted. Later Knopf printings identify themselves by stated printing on the copyright page; modern reprints (Negro Universities Press, Norton Critical, Penguin, Rutgers) are plainly stated and pose no confusion.
Passing — 1929 · Alfred A. KnopfThe first printing has 1929 on both the title page and the title verso, with no additional printing stated on the copyright page — Knopf's pre-1933/34 practice was to state every printing after the first, so absence of a statement is the test. Bound in publisher's black cloth ruled in red and lettered in silver, top edge stained red; collation [10], 215, [2] pp, 8vo (approx. 7 11/16 x 5 the printed price in.).…. US Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1929 is the only first — Larsen's second novel. No separate contemporaneous British first edition was traced; the Knopf imprint line of the period reads New York and London, which reflects the imprint rather than a distinct UK edition and does not create a competing first. No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The live trap is the stated later Knopf printings — all three printings appeared in 1929 and are dated 1929, so the year alone proves nothing; the copyright page must be free of any printing statement.

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