Is My Copy of I, Claudius a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition published 4 May 1934 by Arthur Barker, London (Higginson & Williams A42)
• Bound in black cloth, spine stamped in gold "ROBERT GRAVES / I, / CLAUDIUS / BARKER", lower edge uncut; white laid paper with white wove endpapers
• 248 leaves, 21.8 x 13.8 cm, text pp. 13-494, with the genealogical table "The Tree of the Imperial Family and Connexions" tipped in at p. 495 — the table must be present
• The dust jacket is white, printed in blue, brown, yellowish pink and black, designed by John Aldridge; it is a priced jacket, and a clipped flap removes one check on the copy
• Some first-impression copies carry a white paper wrap-around band printed in blue reading "CHOSEN BY THE BOOK SOCIETY"; the band is a first-impression feature, not a later addition
• Two printers produced identical first-impression copies — The Star and Gazette Co., Ltd. (Guernsey) and Hazell, Watson and Viney, Ltd. — after the Guernsey machinery broke down mid-run and the work was transferred; both are the first, and the printer's imprint does not rank a copy

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?

Arthur Barker, London, 4 May 1934 is the true first and precedes the first American edition — Harrison Smith and Robert Haas, New York, 4 June 1934, in dark blue buckram — by one month. Both are collected, with the Barker the senior. The sequel, Claudius the God, duly followed from Arthur Barker, London, on 5 November 1934 — the same year, as claimed — in matching black cloth under a John Aldridge jacket; its first American edition (Harrison Smith and Robert Haas, New York) did not appear until 4 March 1935. Collectors take the two Barker volumes as a matched pair.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The sharpest reprint tell is the remainder issue: orange cloth copies distributed by W. H. Smith, with the genealogical table omitted — orange cloth plus a missing family tree marks a remainder, not a first. Nine further impressions followed between May 1934 and October 1935 (May, June, September and December 1934; January, May and October 1935), so an "Arthur Barker 1934" title page is not by itself sufficient: the impression statement decides it, and all later impressions were printed by Hazell, Watson and Viney alone. The "CHOSEN BY THE BOOK SOCIETY" band refers to the UK Book Society, a subscription club that circulated the publisher's own first-impression sheets — it is not evidence of a book-club reprint and should not be read as one. On the American side the pattern to expect is documented on the sequel: the Harrison Smith and Robert Haas Claudius the God was issued simultaneously with a Book-of-the-Month Club printing distinguished by a gold-stamped medallion on the binding and by jacket text.P-039662

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of I, Claudius a first edition?

A first edition of I, Claudius by Robert Graves (Arthur Barker) is identified by: First edition published 4 May 1934 by Arthur Barker, London (Higginson & Williams A42).

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. Arthur Barker, London, 4 May 1934 is the true first and precedes the first American edition — Harrison Smith and Robert Haas, New York, 4 June 1934, in dark blue buckram — by one month.

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

The sharpest reprint tell is the remainder issue: orange cloth copies distributed by W. H. Smith, with the genealogical table omitted — orange cloth plus a missing family tree marks a remainder, not a first.

I have a first edition of I, Claudius — 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.