Is My Beowulf: A New Verse Translation a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is Faber & Faber (London), 1999, in black boards with the dust-jacket painting by Barrie Cooke and identified by the 'First published in 1999' statement on the copyright page (Heaney's Modern-English verse translation)
• Faber also issued a deluxe signed limited state of 300 numbered copies, quarter red cloth over cream boards in a card slipcase, bound by Smith Settle
• It won the 1999 Whitbread Book of the Year; the first American edition, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York), 2000, has a priced dust jacket and is dated 2000

How Faber & Faber marked a first edition

• 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 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 UK 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?

UK precedence: Faber & Faber (London) 1999 is the true first, ahead of Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York) 2000 as first American (an FSG facing-page Old English / Modern English 'bilingual' issue also appears under the 2000 imprint). Note a source conflict: Wikipedia loosely dates both the London and New York editions to 1999, but the physical FSG US hardcover is dated 2000 and dealer records consistently give Faber 1999 the precedence — the London 1999 first is the collected point.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented as the first. The FSG New York 2000 hardcover, the FSG bilingual issue, and the 2000-and-later paperbacks are not the 1999 Faber first printing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Beowulf: A New Verse Translation a first edition?

A first edition of Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney (Faber & Faber) is identified by: The true first is Faber & Faber (London), 1999, in black boards with the dust-jacket painting by Barrie Cooke and identified by the 'First published in 1999' statement on the copyright page (Heaney's Modern-English verse translation).

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 precedence: Faber & Faber (London) 1999 is the true first, ahead of Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York) 2000 as first American (an FSG facing-page Old English / Modern English 'bilingual' issue also appears under the 2000 imprint).

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

No book-club edition documented as the first. The FSG New York 2000 hardcover, the FSG bilingual issue, and the 2000-and-later paperbacks are not the 1999 Faber first printing.

I have a first edition of Beowulf: A New Verse Translation — 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.