Robert Frost First Editions

• A Boy's Will — 1913 · David NuttFrost's first book, published in London by David Nutt in April 1913. About 1,000 sets of sheets were bound and sold over roughly three decades (Nutt failed after the First World War), in four variant bindings known to Frost collectors as A-D: (A) the publisher's original bronzed-brown pebble-grain cloth, gilt-lettered on the upper board, bound by the Leighton-Straker Bookbinding Co. — the genuine first issue, no…. The London David Nutt edition of 1913 is the true first edition worldwide; the U.S. Henry Holt edition followed in 1915. Only the bronzed-brown pebble-cloth Binding A is the genuine first issue — the other three binding states are later issues of the same 1913 sheets. No book club. Distinguished from the 1915 Holt American edition by the London Nutt imprint and, for the first issue, the bronzed pebble cloth of Binding A. A quick tell: the 1915 Holt title page describes Frost as 'AUTHOR OF NORTH OF BOSTON' — impossible on the genuine 1913 London first, since North of Boston did not appear until 1914. Later Holt and anthology printings carry U.S. imprints absent from the 1913….
• North of Boston — 1914 · David NuttFrost's second book, again a London first. About 1,000 sets of first-edition sheets were bound in several variant states over roughly eight years. The genuine first issue, first binding state is coarse olive-green cloth bearing a blind-rule border at the edges of the front cover and lacking any rubber-stamped 'Printed in Great Britain' on the title-page verso; roughly 350 copies were bound and sold before the…. The UK David Nutt edition of 1914 precedes the US Henry Holt edition of 1914. The London printing is the true first; the Holt edition is the first American. No book club. Later first-issue binding states were rubber-stamped 'Printed in Great Britain' on the copyright/title verso; the earliest (Binding A) lacks that stamp. The US Holt 1914 carries an American imprint.
• Mountain Interval — 1916 · Henry HoltFirst-state points: the sixth line of the poem is repeated on page 88 (in 'Snow'), and the word 'Come' appears for 'Gone' on line 16 of page 93. The two states of the first printing were created by cancelling two leaves to correct these typographical errors; the first state has the uncorrected readings. US Holt edition (November 1916) is the true first; there was no prior UK edition. First state precedes the corrected second state, which cancels the two affected leaves. No book club issue of note.
• New Hampshire — 1923 · Henry HoltNew York: Henry Holt, 1923. Won the 1924 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and contains 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' and 'Fire and Ice'. The precedence first is the signed limited edition of 350 numbered copies, signed by Frost on the limitation leaf, illustrated with four woodcuts by J. J. Lankes, on rough paper in green-grey linen cloth with tan-mottled endpapers. The trade edition followed about three months…. The 350-copy signed, numbered limited edition is the precedence first; the 1923 Holt trade edition is the first trade printing. US Holt is the true first, with no prior UK edition. No book club of note. The trade first is told from the limited by the absence of the signature/limitation leaf and the large-paper woodcut format of the limited.
• West-Running Brook — 1928 · Henry HoltIssued as a trade first edition and as a signed limited edition of 1000 numbered copies, signed by Frost, in publisher's slipcase. Woodcuts by J.J. Lankes (signed prints in the limited). The limited was printed at the Merrymount Press in a wholly different setting and pagination from the trade issue; the trade issue is in cloth with dust jacket. US Holt, 1928. The 1000-copy signed limited is the collectible premium over the trade issue; both appeared the same year from the same publisher but in different settings. No book club issue.
• Collected Poems — 1930 · Henry HoltWon the 1931 Pulitzer Prize. The signed limited edition of 1,000 copies was published by Random House, signed by Frost on the half-title and hand-numbered on the limitation leaf, and preceded the Holt trade edition by roughly four weeks; it was printed on heavy laid paper in tan linen boards with a leather spine label. The Henry Holt first trade edition (1930) was printed from the same Random House plates; its…. The Random House signed limited edition of 1,000 copies is the true first and precedes the Henry Holt first trade edition. The record's earlier attribution of the limited edition to Holt was incorrect; Holt issued the trade edition only. No book club edition. The later 'Complete Poems' (1949) is a separate, later book and should not be confused with this collection.
• A Further Range — 1936 · Henry HoltIssued as a trade first edition and as a signed limited of 803 numbered copies, signed by Frost, printed at the Spiral Press and issued roughly nine days ahead of the trade edition. Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1937). Distinguish the trade Holt first from the Book-of-the-Month Club printing. US Holt, 1936. The signed limited of 803 copies is the premium; the BOMC edition is not the first. A Book-of-the-Month Club edition exists and is not the true first; typical club points include absence of a price on the jacket flap and a blind stamp (small indentation) on the rear board.
• A Witness Tree — 1942 · Henry HoltWon the 1943 Pulitzer Prize (Frost's fourth). The signed limited edition of 735 numbered copies, printed at the Spiral Press and bound in green with the leaves untrimmed and issued in a green paper slipcase, precedes the trade edition. The trade first printing carries the words 'FIRST PRINTING' on the copyright page; later printings substitute 'SECOND PRINTING' or a month-and-year date. The Henry Holt signed limited edition of 735 numbered copies precedes the trade edition; the US Holt issue is the true first. No UK edition precedes it. No significant book club edition. Later printings are identified by the printing statement on the copyright page reading 'SECOND PRINTING' or a dated month-and-year line rather than 'FIRST PRINTING.'.
• Come In, and Other Poems — 1943 · Henry HoltIntroduction and commentary by Louis Untermeyer, illustrated by John O'Hara Cosgrave II. A first-thus selection of previously published poems (not new work); first printing per Holt convention, with no later-printing statement. Colorful Cosgrave dust jacket, pictorial endpapers, and black-and-white vignettes throughout; cream cloth binding. US Holt. A first-thus collected selection rather than all-new work. Later expanded and reissued as 'The Road Not Taken: A Selection of Robert Frost's Poems' (1951), same illustrator and editor. No notable club issue.
• A Masque of Reason — 1945 · Henry HoltIssued as a trade first edition and as a signed limited of 800 numbered copies, signed by Frost, printed at the Spiral Press. Trade first printing carries no later-printing notice; dark blue cloth, gilt spine lettering, illustrated dust jacket. US Holt, 1945. The 800-copy signed limited is the premium. Frost's verse play framed as a final chapter to the Book of Job, issued for his 70th birthday. No book club issue.
• A Masque of Mercy — 1947 · Henry HoltIssued in 1947 as a trade first edition and a signed limited edition of 751 numbered copies, printed at the Spiral Press, in blue cloth-backed boards with publisher's slipcase. The signed limited is the premium; the trade first printing carries no later-printing statement. US Henry Holt is the true first. The 751-copy signed limited is the premium issue. The second of Frost's two blank-verse masques, following A Masque of Reason. No book club edition relevant to the first.
• Steeple Bush — 1947 · Henry HoltIssued in two forms in 1947: a trade first edition and a signed limited edition of 751 numbered copies, printed at the Spiral Press with title-page decoration by Loren MacIver, in half-cloth over decorated boards with glassine and slipcase. The signed limited is the collector premium; the trade first printing carries no later-printing statement. US Henry Holt is the true first. The 751-copy signed limited is the premium issue; the trade first is the accessible first printing. Frost's penultimate collection. No book club edition relevant to the first.
• Complete Poems of Robert Frost 1949 — 1949 · Henry HoltThe trade first printing is identified by the copyright-page statement 'Published, June, 1948'; later printings add subsequent dated printing lines (e.g. 'Second Printing, November, 1949'). Note the volume is dated 1949 on the title but the trade was published in June 1948. Separately, a signed limited edition of 1500 copies was issued as two large-octavo volumes, boxed, illustrated with wood engravings by Thomas…. US Henry Holt is the true first. The boxed two-volume signed limited of 1500 copies (Rogers/Nason) is the premium. Do not confuse it with the separate 1950 Limited Editions Club two-volume set (also 1500 copies). No book club edition relevant to the trade first; the 1950 Limited Editions Club issue is a distinct later production.
• In the Clearing — 1962 · Holt, Rinehart and WinstonFrost's last collection, published on his 88th birthday, 26 March 1962. Issued as a trade first edition and a signed limited edition of 1500 copies, printed at the Spiral Press. The trade first printing is identified per Holt, Rinehart and Winston convention (no later-printing statement present) and the dust jacket bears the original front-flap price. Includes 'For John F. Kennedy His Inauguration.'. US Holt, Rinehart and Winston is the true first. The 1500-copy signed limited is the premium. No book club edition relevant to the first.

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