Is My Autumn Journal a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first: Faber & Faber, London, May 1939
• Octavo in publisher's russet-brown cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, in a brown dust jacket lettered in cream; a two-page author's note precedes the twenty-four sections
• The first impression's copyright page carries the 1939 first-published line only, with no added impression statement — later Faber impressions state theirs, and a 1945 Faber issue was reset as 'Autumn Journal, a poem'
• Jackets should be unclipped with the price present at the flap
• Reference: Connolly, The Modern Movement, 85

How Faber & Faber, London marked a first edition

• First printings state "First published in [Year]" (often "First published in mcmxxxx") on the copyright/verso page, with no list of later impressions
• Prior to 1968 the year was set in ROMAN NUMERALS (e.g. 'First published in mcmliv'); from 1968 onward Arabic numerals were used — a key dating tell

Full Faber & Faber, London first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

UK first: Faber & Faber, London, May 1939. The census note dating the American edition to 1940 is wrong — Random House, New York, published the first American edition in 1939, and ABAA/ABA dealers describe it as printed from the English sheets (96 pp, same setting of type, with a Random House title leaf), not a resetting. Faber therefore holds precedence; the Random House issue is collected as the American first and is identified by its New York imprint on the title leaf.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented. Reprint tells are the stated later Faber impressions (a 1940 impression; a 1945 issue titled 'Autumn Journal, a poem'; a 1946 limited Faber issue), all of which carry impression or date lines the 1939 first lacks. The Faber Library hardback (1996), the Faber Poetry paperback (1998) and the 2013 reissue are 'first thus'.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Autumn Journal a first edition?

A first edition of Autumn Journal by Louis MacNeice (Faber & Faber, London) is identified by: True first: Faber & Faber, London, May 1939.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. UK first: Faber & Faber, London, May 1939.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club edition is documented. Reprint tells are the stated later Faber impressions (a 1940 impression; a 1945 issue titled 'Autumn Journal, a poem'; a 1946 limited Faber issue), all of which carry impression or date lines the 1939 first lacks. The Faber Library hardback (1996), the Faber Poetry paperback (1998) and the 2013 reissue are 'first thus'.

I have a first edition of Autumn Journal — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.