Is My Copy of Fatelessness (Sorstalanság) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the 1975 Hungarian-language Sorstalanság, Szépirodalmi Könyvkiadó, Budapest, collating 291,
• pp in a sewn stiff paper-board binding (fűzött kemény papírkötés), roughly 19 cm tall, printed by the Nyomdaipari Szakmunkásképző Intézet, with an original illustrated dust jacket carrying Kertész's black-and-white photographic portrait on the front flap; the cover/binding was designed by Engel Tevan István
• Hungarian antiquarian catalog records label it "Első kiadás" (first edition)
• The practical tells are physical: the intact illustrated jacket with the author-portrait flap, and a colophon/copyright page showing only the single Szépirodalmi imprint and 1975 date, with no later publisher (Magvető) name or reprint statement
• Because the manuscript had been rejected by Magvető and appeared only as a modest single run from a state house, jacketed fine copies are scarce, and a missing or clipped jacket is the chief condition fault buyers check
• Note: some catalog records cite ISBN 963-150-292-9, but sources disagree (Hungarian Wikipedia gives a different number) and ISBN printing on Hungarian state-house books circa 1975 was inconsistent, so an ISBN is NOT a reliable first-issue point here

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 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?

The collectible true first is the 1975 Hungarian Sorstalanság (Szépirodalmi Könyvkiadó, Budapest). English-speaking collectors should note there are TWO distinct English translations and they are not interchangeable: the FIRST English edition is Fateless, translated by Christopher C. Wilson and Katharina M. Wilson, published by Northwestern University Press (Evanston, IL) in 1992 (hardcover ISBN 0-8101-1024-5; paperback 0-8101-1049-0) — the genuine first English-language appearance, but a version Kertész publicly criticized (he told The Journal News he "really tried to protest against the first translations, but I found complete rejection"). The later, now-preferred/canonical English translation is Fatelessness by Tim Wilkinson (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2004; first UK edition The Harvill Press, London, 2005), which appeared around his 2002 Nobel Prize. So "first English" = 1992 Fateless (Northwestern); "the reading/collecting standard" = 2004 Fatelessness (Wilkinson).P-011870

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

There is no notable book-club edition of the Hungarian first; the real trap is edition/translation conflation. Later Hungarian reprints exist under Szépirodalmi (a second edition appeared in 1985) and, from the late 1990s, under Magvető (which became the author's Hungarian publisher; e.g., a 1999 Magvető edition) — these carry different dates/imprints (and different ISBNs) and are NOT the 1975 first. On the English side, the Northwestern 1992 Fateless was reprinted (including later paperbacks), and the post-Nobel 2004 Knopf Fatelessness saw large trade and later Vintage International printings; a Knopf copy with a "First Edition" statement and a number line ending in 1 marks that translation's true first, but it is still a translation, not the original first edition. Watch especially for post-2002 Nobel-driven reprints of the Hungarian text sold as "firsts."P-011871

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Fatelessness (Sorstalanság) a first edition?

A first edition of Fatelessness (Sorstalanság) by Imre Kertész (Szépirodalmi Könyvkiadó) is identified by: The true first is the 1975 Hungarian-language Sorstalanság, Szépirodalmi Könyvkiadó, Budapest, collating 291, (3) pp in a sewn stiff paper-board binding (fűzött kemény papírkötés), roughly 19 cm tall, printed by the Nyomdaipari Szakmunkásképző Intézet, with an original illustrated dust jacket carrying Kertész's black-and-white photographic portrait on the front flap; the cover/binding was designed by Engel Tevan István.

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 collectible true first is the 1975 Hungarian Sorstalanság (Szépirodalmi Könyvkiadó, Budapest).

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

There is no notable book-club edition of the Hungarian first; the real trap is edition/translation conflation. Later Hungarian reprints exist under Szépirodalmi (a second edition appeared in 1985) and, from the late 1990s, under Magvető (which became the author's Hungarian publisher; e.g., a 1999 Magvető edition) — these carry different dates/imprints (and different ISBNs) and are NOT the 1975 first.

I have a first edition of Fatelessness (Sorstalanság) — 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.