Is My Equus a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First impression is an octavo in original orange cloth with gilt lettering to the spine, in the photographic dust jacket
• André Deutsch house practice is to state "First published 1973 by André Deutsch Limited" on the copyright page and to add an impression line for each subsequent printing — later impressions of 1973 exist and are offered as such (a third impression, still dated 1973, is documented in the trade), so a first impression shows the "First published 1973" line with no added impression statement beneath it
• The same 1973 date on the title page therefore does not by itself establish a first impression, which is the single most common error on this title
• Priced jacket / price present at the flap on unclipped copies
• Dealer listings report the jacket photograph as the Anthony Crickmay image; reported consistently but not independently corroborated in the catalogues consulted

How André Deutsch, London marked a first edition

• First printing = statement present with no subsequent-impression lines

Full André Deutsch, London 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 UK 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?

UK true first: André Deutsch, London, 1973 — the census claim is confirmed. Equus premiered at the National Theatre (Old Vic) in London in 1973 and the Deutsch hardcover precedes all American issues; it won the 1975 Tony Award only after reaching Broadway. CORRECTION to the census note: the US edition was not a standalone "Equus." The play's first American book appearance is in the combined volume EQUUS AND SHRIVINGS: TWO PLAYS (Atheneum, New York, 1974) — publisher's grey cloth, red endpapers, collating [6], 211, [1] pp., with production notes documenting the first performance of Equus and with Shrivings then still unperformed. Both editions are collected: the Deutsch 1973 as the true first, the Atheneum 1974 as the first American appearance. A standalone Atheneum "Equus" dated 1974 at 99 pp. is encountered as a book club edition rather than a trade first — do not mistake it for an American trade first of the play alone.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A standalone Atheneum "Equus," New York, 1974, 99 pp. hardcover is catalogued in the trade as a book club edition; the American trade first is the 211-page Equus and Shrivings volume, so a slim 99-page Atheneum Equus should be treated as a club copy pending examination of the board and jacket flap. Specific club tells (blind stamp/deboss, absence of price at the flap, reduced trim) were not itemised by the dealer consulted and are not asserted here. No book-club issue of the Deutsch London edition is documented in the sources reviewed.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Equus a first edition?

A first edition of Equus by Peter Shaffer (André Deutsch, London) is identified by: First impression is an octavo in original orange cloth with gilt lettering to the spine, in the photographic dust jacket.

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. UK true first: André Deutsch, London, 1973 — the census claim is confirmed.

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

A standalone Atheneum "Equus," New York, 1974, 99 pp. hardcover is catalogued in the trade as a book club edition; the American trade first is the 211-page Equus and Shrivings volume, so a slim 99-page Atheneum Equus should be treated as a club copy pending examination of the board and jacket flap. Specific club tells (blind stamp/deboss, absence of price at the flap, reduced trim) were not itemised by the dealer consulted and are not asserted here. No book-club issue of the Deutsch London editi

I have a first edition of Equus — 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.