Is My Copy of Epitaph of a Small Winner a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first: the novel ran serially in Revista Brasileira
• and appeared in book form as Memorias Postumas de Bras Cubas, Tipographia Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, 1881 (roughly 3,000-4,000 copies; a copy is held at the Fundacao Casa de Rui Barbosa)
• English is a dual-title minefield: William L. Grossman's translation FIRST appeared in an obscure self-financed Sao Paulo printing of 1951 titled 'The Posthumous Memoirs of Braz Cubas,' which barely circulated; the widely collected first is the first US trade edition, 'Epitaph of a Small Winner,' Noonday Press, New York, 1952 (published 14 July 1952), translated by Grossman with illustrations by Shari Frisch and stating 'first American edition.' A UK edition (W. H. Allen, London, 1953) used the SAME title, 'Epitaph of a Small Winner.'

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. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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 is the 1881 Rio de Janeiro (Tipographia Nacional) book edition. Under the title 'Epitaph of a Small Winner,' the US Noonday 1952 is first and precedes the UK W. H. Allen 1953; but the actual first-ever English rendering is Grossman's scarce 1951 Sao Paulo printing under the variant title 'The Posthumous Memoirs of Braz Cubas.' Do not conflate the modern re-translations titled 'The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas' (Rabassa, Oxford 1997; Thomson-DeVeaux, Penguin 2020) with the 1952 Grossman first — different translations, separate 'firsts thus.'P-045496

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Noonday later reissued the title in wrappers and under the Farrar, Straus / Noonday imprint — reprints of the 1952 setting. No book-club edition is a standard point; the scarce 1951 Sao Paulo printing is a precedence curiosity, not a book club.P-045497

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Epitaph of a Small Winner a first edition?

A first edition of Epitaph of a Small Winner by Machado de Assis (Tipographia Nacional, Rio de Janeiro) is identified by: True first: the novel ran serially in Revista Brasileira (1880) and appeared in book form as Memorias Postumas de Bras Cubas, Tipographia Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, 1881 (roughly 3,000-4,000 copies; a copy is held at the Fundacao Casa de Rui Barbosa).

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 is the 1881 Rio de Janeiro (Tipographia Nacional) book edition.

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

Noonday later reissued the title in wrappers and under the Farrar, Straus / Noonday imprint — reprints of the 1952 setting. No book-club edition is a standard point; the scarce 1951 Sao Paulo printing is a precedence curiosity, not a book club.

I have a first edition of Epitaph of a Small Winner — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.