Is My Bend Sinister a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first published by Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1947, with the first-printing statement on the copyright page — from 1945 Holt placed a first-edition/first-printing statement, and the absence of any later-printing notice confirms the first
• Bound in black cloth, the spine lettered in gilt, in a pictorial dust jacket; a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap is the point (beware price-clipped and later-supplied jackets)
• Second novel Nabokov wrote in English and the first he wrote in America

How Henry Holt and Company marked a first edition

• Pre-1945: identified by the LACK of a later-printing statement on the copyright page.
• 1945 onward: usually placed a first-edition statement on the copyright page of US-produced books (no statement on books produced outside the US).

Full Henry Holt and Company first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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?

US Holt 1947 is the true first. The first British edition did not appear until Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1960 (in the wake of Lolita), so US precedence is clear. Do not confuse 'first novel written in America' (Bend Sinister) with his first English-language novel overall, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight (New Directions, 1941).

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue documented for the 1947 Holt first. The 1960 Weidenfeld (UK) and later Time Reading / McGraw-Hill / Penguin issues are reprints or 'first thus.'

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Bend Sinister a first edition?

A first edition of Bend Sinister by Vladimir Nabokov (Henry Holt and Company) is identified by: True first published by Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1947, with the first-printing statement on the copyright page — from 1945 Holt placed a first-edition/first-printing statement, and the absence of any later-printing notice confirms the first.

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. US Holt 1947 is the true first.

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

No book-club issue documented for the 1947 Holt first. The 1960 Weidenfeld (UK) and later Time Reading / McGraw-Hill / Penguin issues are reprints or 'first thus.'

I have a first edition of Bend Sinister — 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.