Is My Hothouse a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Faber & Faber, London, 1962, octavo, cloth, in dust jacket
• The first printing is identified by Faber's pre-1968 practice: the copyright page reads 'First published in mcmlxii by Faber and Faber Limited', with the year in Roman numerals and no impression statement beneath; later printings add 'Second impression' and so on
• Jacket should be present and priced (price present at the flap) — price-clipped copies are frequently encountered
• This is the first hardcover edition anywhere and the first appearance of the complete text of the novel

How Faber & Faber marked a first edition

• First printings state "First published in [Year]" (often "First published in mcmxxxx") on the copyright/verso page, with no list of later impressions
• Prior to 1968 the year was set in ROMAN NUMERALS (e.g. 'First published in mcmliv'); from 1968 onward Arabic numerals were used — a key dating tell

Full Faber & Faber 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?

CENSUS CORRECTED. The claim 'UK first' fails on strict chronological precedence. The first book publication of this material is the abridged American paperback original, The Long Afternoon of Earth (Signet / New American Library, New York, 1962): L.W. Currey and John W. Knott, Jr. — both ABAA, and Currey is the standard authority for SF bibliography — independently state that it was 'issued earlier in the U.S. in a shorter version'. The Faber Hothouse (1962) is therefore the first British edition, the first hardcover, and the first complete/unabridged text, but not the first book publication. The full text did not reach the United States until 1976. Both are collected on different grounds: the Signet has chronological precedence, the Faber has textual authority. Separately, the 1962 Hugo for Best Short Fiction attaches to the five Hothouse novelettes as they appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1961, not to either book edition — do not describe either book as 'the Hugo winner'.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The Long Afternoon of Earth is an abridgement, not a reprint of the Faber text, and should never be catalogued as a later printing of Hothouse; US paperbacks reprinting that abridged text through the 1960s and 1970s are reprints of the abridgement. Conversely, US editions from 1976 onward carrying the full text under either title are 'first thus'. No book-club issue of the Faber first was documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Hothouse a first edition?

A first edition of Hothouse by Brian Aldiss (Faber & Faber) is identified by: Faber & Faber, London, 1962, octavo, cloth, in 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. CENSUS CORRECTED.

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

The Long Afternoon of Earth is an abridgement, not a reprint of the Faber text, and should never be catalogued as a later printing of Hothouse; US paperbacks reprinting that abridged text through the 1960s and 1970s are reprints of the abridgement. Conversely, US editions from 1976 onward carrying the full text under either title are 'first thus'. No book-club issue of the Faber first was documented in the sources consulted.

I have a first edition of Hothouse — 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.