# Is "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (Chatto & Windus, 1932) is identified by: Trade first: Chatto & Windus, London, published 2 February 1932, in publisher's blue cloth lettered and tooled in gilt to the spine, the top edge stained dark blue and the lower edge rough-trimmed. Both the UK trade issue and the UK 324-copy signed limited were published together on 2 February 1932.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Trade first: Chatto & Windus, London, published 2 February 1932, in publisher's blue cloth lettered and tooled in gilt to the spine, the top edge stained dark blue and the lower edge rough-trimmed
- The dust jacket carries its printed net price at the spine — an unclipped first-state jacket shows the original published price there, and a clipped or price-absent flap is a caution
- Issued concurrently: a signed limited of 324 copies on hand-made paper, signed by Huxley, in lightly bevelled yellow buckram with a blue morocco spine label, top edge gilt and the others untrimmed, supplied in a slipcase
- Publisher imprint reads Chatto & Windus
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Aldous Huxley |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
| Year | 1932 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Trade first: Chatto & Windus, London, published 2 February 1932, in publisher's blue cloth lettered and tooled in gilt to the spine, the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Trade first: Chatto & Windus, London, published 2 February 1932, in publisher's blue cloth lettered and tooled in gilt to the spine, the top edge stained dark blue and the lower edge rough-trimmed. The dust jacket carries its printed net price at the spine — an unclipped first-state jacket shows the original published price there, and a clipped or price-absent flap is a caution. Issued concurrently: a signed limited of 324 copies on hand-made paper, signed by Huxley, in lightly bevelled yellow buckram with a blue morocco spine label, top edge gilt and the others untrimmed, supplied in a slipcase.

## Is this the true first?
Both the UK trade issue and the UK 324-copy signed limited were published together on 2 February 1932. The signed limited is the deluxe state; the ordinary Chatto & Windus trade issue is the true first of the general edition. The US Doubleday, Doran edition (1932) follows the London printing — UK precedes US.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
US and book-club copies are not the UK first. Later book-club reprints are typically on cheaper bulked paper with an unpriced jacket (no net price at the spine), and later US book-club printings often carry a small blind stamp to the rear board. The signed limited, by contrast, is numbered on its limitation leaf and slipcased.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Brave New World* by Aldous Huxley a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/brave-new-world
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.