Is My Death in Venice (Der Tod in Venedig) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first appearance in book form is the deluxe Hans von Weber Hyperion edition (Munich, 1912), issued in 100 numbered copies as one of von Weber's Hundertdrucke and printed on special paper
• This limited issue appeared shortly after the text completed its serial run
• The ordinary S. Fischer trade edition followed in 1913, not 1912

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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. 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.
4. 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?

German is the true first. The text first appeared serially in Die Neue Rundschau (S. Fischer) in the October and November 1912 issues, which constitute the first periodical appearance. The von Weber Hyperion limited (1912, 100 numbered copies) is the first book appearance; the S. Fischer trade book edition is 1913. First English appeared from Knopf in 1925 in Death in Venice and Other Stories (trans. Kenneth Burke), later in the H. T. Lowe-Porter translation.P-031183

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Common S. Fischer trade printings (from 1913 onward) and later collected-works printings are not the 1912 limited true first. English translations are separate firsts thus. Confirm the printed numbered-limitation statement when identifying a von Weber copy.P-031184

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Death in Venice (Der Tod in Venedig) a first edition?

A first edition of Death in Venice (Der Tod in Venedig) by Thomas Mann (Hans von Weber, Hyperionverlag) is identified by: The first appearance in book form is the deluxe Hans von Weber Hyperion edition (Munich, 1912), issued in 100 numbered copies as one of von Weber's Hundertdrucke and printed on special paper.

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. German is the true first.

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

Common S. Fischer trade printings (from 1913 onward) and later collected-works printings are not the 1912 limited true first. English translations are separate firsts thus. Confirm the printed numbered-limitation statement when identifying a von Weber copy.

I have a first edition of Death in Venice (Der Tod in Venedig) — 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.