Is My Cider with Rosie a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is The Hogarth Press (London), 1959, in green boards with a dust jacket and text illustrations by John Ward
• The first-issue point is the libellous passage referring to 'a fire at the piano-works almost every year' at page 272, present in the first printing and amended or deleted in later impressions after Lee settled a libel action (heard in the High Court, 18 July 1960)
• Identify by the Hogarth imprint, the 1959 date, and the presence of the original page-272 wording

How The Hogarth Press marked a first edition

• Crown / Penguin Random House house style: true first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page and carries a full number line whose lowest digit is 1.
• The lowest number in the number line is the decisive signal for the first printing.

Full The Hogarth Press 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, with a US title-change trap: The Hogarth Press, London (1959) is the true first. The American edition was retitled 'The Edge of Day: Boyhood in the West of England' (William Morrow, New York, 1960) — the same work under a different title, not a separate book, and a classic retitling trap.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Hogarth impressions carry the page-272 libel passage removed or reworded; presence of the original wording distinguishes the first issue from corrected reprints.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Cider with Rosie a first edition?

A first edition of Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee (The Hogarth Press) is identified by: The true first is The Hogarth Press (London), 1959, in green boards with a dust jacket and text illustrations by John Ward.

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, with a US title-change trap: The Hogarth Press, London (1959) is the true first.

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

Later Hogarth impressions carry the page-272 libel passage removed or reworded; presence of the original wording distinguishes the first issue from corrected reprints.

I have a first edition of Cider with Rosie — 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.