Is My Duino Elegies a First Edition?

The points of issue

• German true first 'Duineser Elegien,' Insel-Verlag, Leipzig, 1923, printed by Gebr
• Klingspor in Offenbach in Tiemann-Antiqua type; issued as a numbered limited edition of 300 copies (Vorzugsausgabe — the first 100 bound in full green morocco gilt at the Wiener Werkstätte, the remainder in three-quarter morocco or paper-covered boards), alongside an ordinary trade edition in red cloth lettered in gilt with text printed in black and green (refs: Sarkowski 1338
• Wilpert-Gühring 40; von Mises 94
• Ritzer E9)
• CORRECTION to the census: the first English is NOT the 1939 Leishman & Spender bilingual Hogarth edition — the English debut is the Hogarth Press edition of 1931 translated by Vita and Edward Sackville-West ('Duineser Elegien: Elegies from the Castle of Duino'), printed at the Cranach Press with wood-engraved initials by Eric Gill and format planned by Count Harry Kessler

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?

Original-language true first = Insel-Verlag, Leipzig, 1923 (numbered deluxe issue of 300 plus the ordinary trade issue, both 1923). First English = Hogarth Press, London, 1931 (Vita & Edward Sackville-West). The celebrated Leishman & Spender Hogarth bilingual edition of 1939 is a 'first thus' — the second English translation, not the first English.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The 1939 Leishman/Spender Hogarth edition is frequently mis-sold as 'first in English' — it is first of that translation only. Modern Norton / Picador / Pushkin printings are reprints.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Duino Elegies a first edition?

A first edition of Duino Elegies by Rainer Maria Rilke (Insel-Verlag, Leipzig) is identified by: German true first 'Duineser Elegien,' Insel-Verlag, Leipzig, 1923, printed by Gebr.

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. Original-language true first = Insel-Verlag, Leipzig, 1923 (numbered deluxe issue of 300 plus the ordinary trade issue, both 1923).

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

The 1939 Leishman/Spender Hogarth edition is frequently mis-sold as 'first in English' — it is first of that translation only. Modern Norton / Picador / Pushkin printings are reprints.

I have a first edition of Duino Elegies — 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.