Is My Embers a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is A gyertyák csonkig égnek, Révai, Budapest, 1942, 210 pages, in publisher's cloth (vászon) within the series 'Márai Sándor munkái'
• Hungarian antiquarian cataloguing records the Révai imprint together with 'Révai nyomása' (Révai printing) and the series statement, and these — with the 210-page collation — are the identification
• The first edition in English is Embers, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2001 (published 2 October 2001), translated by Carol Brown Janeway not from the Hungarian but from the German intermediary, Die Glut (Piper, Munich, 1999)
• Knopf firsts of this period state 'First American Edition' on the copyright page with the Borzoi colophon and no later-printing statement; the jacket should be present and unclipped with the price at the flap
• A Knopf advance reading copy / 'Advanced Reader's Edition' in pictorial wrappers, issued without a jacket and sometimes with a review card laid in, is recorded and is not the first edition

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. 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?

Hungarian is the true first (Révai, Budapest, 1942), preceding the English by fifty-nine years. For English the US precedes: Knopf, New York, 2001, followed by the first UK edition from Viking (Penguin Books Ltd), London, 2002, bound in black or midnight-blue cloth with gilt author and title lettering to the spine and an illustrated dust wrapper — both the Knopf and the Viking are collected. The German Die Glut (Piper, Munich, 1999) is the edition that triggered the international rediscovery and is the text Janeway actually worked from, which makes it a meaningful collecting point in its own right, though not a 'first' of the work.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the Révai 1942 or the Knopf 2001. One caution on the Hungarian first: at least one auction house catalogues a '1942, Helikon' first edition, which conflicts with the Révai imprint recorded by Hungarian Wikipedia and by antikvarium.hu — Helikon (Budapest) is the publisher of the standard modern Márai reprints, so treat any 'Helikon 1942' attribution as unconfirmed and check the title page. The Vintage International paperback (ISBN 0-375-70742-5) is the common American reprint and is frequently offered as a first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Embers a first edition?

A first edition of Embers by Sándor Márai (Révai, Budapest) is identified by: The true first is A gyertyák csonkig égnek, Révai, Budapest, 1942, 210 pages, in publisher's cloth (vászon) within the series 'Márai Sándor munkái'; Hungarian antiquarian cataloguing records the Révai imprint together with 'Révai nyomása' (Révai printing) and the series statement, and these — with the 210-page collation — are the identification.

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. Hungarian is the true first (Révai, Budapest, 1942), preceding the English by fifty-nine years.

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

No book-club issue is documented for the Révai 1942 or the Knopf 2001. One caution on the Hungarian first: at least one auction house catalogues a '1942, Helikon' first edition, which conflicts with the Révai imprint recorded by Hungarian Wikipedia and by antikvarium.hu — Helikon (Budapest) is the publisher of the standard modern Márai reprints, so treat any 'Helikon 1942' attribution as unconfirmed and check the title page. The Vintage International paperback (ISBN 0-375-70742-5) is the common

I have a first edition of Embers — 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.