# Is "Hugh Selwyn Mauberley" by Ezra Pound a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Hugh Selwyn Mauberley by Ezra Pound (The Ovid Press, 1920) is identified by: True first: The Ovid Press, London, completed April 1920; limited to 200 numbered copies (15 on Japan vellum numbered 1-15 and not for sale, 20 signed copies numbered 16-35, and 165 unsigned copies numbered 36-200). The Ovid Press edition (London, 1920) is the true first; there was no contemporaneous American edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first: The Ovid Press, London, completed April 1920; limited to 200 numbered copies (15 on Japan vellum numbered 1-15 and not for sale, 20 signed copies numbered 16-35, and 165 unsigned copies numbered 36-200)
- Printed and published by John Rodker at his Ovid Press, with woodcut initials by Edward Wadsworth
- Identified by the Ovid Press colophon and limitation statement
- Publisher imprint reads The Ovid Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ezra Pound |
| Publisher | The Ovid Press |
| Year | 1920 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | True first: The Ovid Press, London, completed April 1920; limited to 200 numbered copies (15 on Japan vellum numbered 1-15 and not for… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
True first: The Ovid Press, London, completed April 1920; limited to 200 numbered copies (15 on Japan vellum numbered 1-15 and not for sale, 20 signed copies numbered 16-35, and 165 unsigned copies numbered 36-200). Printed and published by John Rodker at his Ovid Press, with woodcut initials by Edward Wadsworth. Identified by the Ovid Press colophon and limitation statement.

## Is this the true first?
The Ovid Press edition (London, 1920) is the true first; there was no contemporaneous American edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition. Later collected appearances of the Mauberley sequence carry different imprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Hugh Selwyn Mauberley* by Ezra Pound a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/hugh-selwyn-mauberley
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.