Is My Flush: A Biography a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first is the Hogarth Press, London, 1933 (Kirkpatrick A19a), in light brown/buff cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, illustrated with six photographic plates and four line drawings by Vanessa Bell (the frontispiece spaniel modelled on Woolf's own dog Pinka)
• Key identifying jacket point: the first-edition dust jacket (Vanessa Bell pictorial) is printed "Large Paper Edition," and the text block is amply margined — this wording and the generous margins distinguish the 1933 first from the smaller, later Uniform Edition
• The total first-edition run was 12,680 copies; the copyright leaf carries a 1933 first-publication statement

How The Hogarth Press marked a first edition

• Crown / Penguin Random House house style: true first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page and carries a full number line whose lowest digit is 1.
• The lowest number in the number line is the decisive signal for the first printing.

Full The Hogarth Press first-edition guide →

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 American 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?

The Hogarth (London), October 1933 edition is the accepted true first and priority, preceding the first American edition (Harcourt, Brace, New York, 1933), which followed the same season. Both bear 1933 and both are collected; the Hogarth is the true first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Hogarth Uniform Edition copies are smaller-margined and lack the "Large Paper Edition" jacket wording — do not mistake the Uniform reissue for the 1933 first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Flush: A Biography a first edition?

A first edition of Flush: A Biography by Virginia Woolf (The Hogarth Press) is identified by: True first is the Hogarth Press, London, 1933 (Kirkpatrick A19a), in light brown/buff cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, illustrated with six photographic plates and four line drawings by Vanessa Bell (the frontispiece spaniel modelled on Woolf's own dog Pinka).

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 Hogarth (London), October 1933 edition is the accepted true first and priority, preceding the first American edition (Harcourt, Brace, New York, 1933), which followed the same season.

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

Later Hogarth Uniform Edition copies are smaller-margined and lack the "Large Paper Edition" jacket wording — do not mistake the Uniform reissue for the 1933 first.

I have a first edition of Flush: A Biography — 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.