Is My Gitanjali a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first English edition: Gitanjali (Song Offerings), The India Society, London, 1912, printed at the Chiswick Press
• A limited edition of 750 copies (250 for sale), the limitation so stated on the verso of the title page, with W. B. Yeats's introduction dated September 1912
• Issued in original white gilt-stamped cloth, uncut, with an engraved frontispiece portrait of Tagore (tissue guard present)
• Published November 1912, preceding the 1913 Macmillan trade 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. 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 original Bengali Gitanjali (Calcutta, 1910) is the Bengali first, but the Nobel-relevant and most-collected English true first is the 1912 India Society limited edition (the text associated with the 1913 Nobel Prize). The 1913 Macmillan is therefore the trade first, not the true first — the India Society issue precedes it.P-037110

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The common Macmillan editions (1913 onward) are NOT the limited India Society true first; the India Society issue is limited to 750 copies (250 for sale) and so stated on the verso of the title page. The Bengali original (1910) is a separate collectible, not the English first.P-037111

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Gitanjali a first edition?

A first edition of Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore (The India Society) is identified by: True first English edition: Gitanjali (Song Offerings), The India Society, London, 1912, printed at the Chiswick Press.

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 original Bengali Gitanjali (Calcutta, 1910) is the Bengali first, but the Nobel-relevant and most-collected English true first is the 1912 India Society limited edition (the text associated with the 1913 Nobel Prize).

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

The common Macmillan editions (1913 onward) are NOT the limited India Society true first; the India Society issue is limited to 750 copies (250 for sale) and so stated on the verso of the title page. The Bengali original (1910) is a separate collectible, not the English first.

I have a first edition of Gitanjali — 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.