Is My Difficult Loves a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The US Harcourt Brace Jovanovich edition is dated 1984 and, because 1984 falls after the 1973 to 1983 no-A window, its copyright page states First edition with the full letter line beginning at A (First Edition / A B C D E)
• The UK Secker and Warburg edition is dated 1983
• Translators across the two editions include William Weaver, Archibald Colquhoun, and Peggy Wright

How Secker & Warburg marked a first edition

• Pre-1940s: firsts either carried NO statement or occasionally "First published [Year]" with no additional printings listed
• 1940s onward: consistently state "First published [Year]" on the copyright page of firsts with NO additional impressions listed (later printings add lines)

Full Secker & Warburg 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 US 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?

The US 1984 Harcourt volume is NOT the first English appearance of this material. The UK Secker and Warburg edition (London, 1983) precedes it, and three of the stories were first translated for that 1983 British edition before the fuller American selection of 1984. The two editions differ in contents, so neither is a straightforward reprint of the other.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A later book-club printing of the US edition lacks the stated First edition line and the A-initial letter string and typically has no jacket price; identify by the absence of the number line.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Difficult Loves a first edition?

A first edition of Difficult Loves by Italo Calvino (Secker & Warburg) is identified by: The US Harcourt Brace Jovanovich edition is dated 1984 and, because 1984 falls after the 1973 to 1983 no-A window, its copyright page states First edition with the full letter line beginning at A (First Edition / A B C D E).

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. The US 1984 Harcourt volume is NOT the first English appearance of this material.

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

A later book-club printing of the US edition lacks the stated First edition line and the A-initial letter string and typically has no jacket price; identify by the absence of the number line.

I have a first edition of Difficult Loves — what should I do?

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 lost. To sell, see the author’s collecting guide. Either way, nothing collectible ends up in a landfill.

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.