Is My East of the Sun and West of the Moon a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Hodder issued the book in two forms in 1914
• The deluxe issue is limited to 500 copies, each numbered and signed by Kay Nielsen on the limitation leaf, bound in publisher's vellum with gilt lettering and a gilt decorative panel within a blue border, top edge gilt and other edges untrimmed, with silk ties (very often perished or detached) and, when complete, a plain slipcase
• The trade issue is a quarto in the original dark blue cloth, elaborately gilt-decorated and lettered on the upper cover and spine to Nielsen's own design
• Both issues carry 25 colour plates (including the frontispiece) mounted on Japon-type stock and set within black-and-gold borders, each under a captioned tissue guard, plus an illustrated and bordered title page, black-and-gold pictorial endpapers, and numerous line drawings, chapter headings and decorative borders; collation runs to roughly 206–207 pages
• The plates were printed by a four-colour process, unusual in 1914 and a visible difference from the three-colour work in contemporary Rackham and Dulac gift books
• Beware rebound copies (half morocco and similar) offered as "first edition" — the original blue cloth or the vellum is the point

How Hodder & Stoughton marked a first edition

• Pre-1940s: no consistent practice — first/later printing identification is unreliable and requires jacket/ad/binding/bibliographic analysis

Full Hodder & Stoughton 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 American 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 London Hodder & Stoughton issue of 1914 is the true first and precedes the American issue from George H. Doran, New York. Both the Hodder deluxe (500 signed, vellum) and the Hodder trade (dark blue cloth gilt) are collected, the deluxe being the pinnacle. The Doran American issue is undated but carries a 1914 copyright, and dealers actively dispute how early any given Doran copy is: the census claim that the UK precedes Doran is confirmed, but Doran copies should not be assumed to be 1914 printings simply because the copyright page says 1914.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented. The reprint trap is on the American side: copies in mustard/yellow cloth lettered in red on spine and upper cover are 1920s Doran printings, not 1914, despite the 1914 copyright page, and ABAA/ILAB dealers explicitly flag listings that describe that binding as "1914" as incorrect. The Public Domain Review works from a 1922 Doran issue. Later Garden City and modern Taschen reissues are "first thus" only.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of East of the Sun and West of the Moon a first edition?

A first edition of East of the Sun and West of the Moon by Kay Nielsen (illus.); Asbjørnsen & Moe tales (Hodder & Stoughton) is identified by: Hodder issued the book in two forms in 1914.

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 London Hodder & Stoughton issue of 1914 is the true first and precedes the American issue from George H.

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

No book-club issue is documented. The reprint trap is on the American side: copies in mustard/yellow cloth lettered in red on spine and upper cover are 1920s Doran printings, not 1914, despite the 1914 copyright page, and ABAA/ILAB dealers explicitly flag listings that describe that binding as "1914" as incorrect. The Public Domain Review works from a 1922 Doran issue. Later Garden City and modern Taschen reissues are "first thus" only.

I have a first edition of East of the Sun and West of the Moon — 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.