Is My In Country Sleep and Other Poems a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, New Directions, New York, 1952
• 34 pp.; six poems — 'Over Sir John's Hill', 'Poem on His Birthday', 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night', 'Lament', 'In the White Giant's Thigh' and 'In Country Sleep'
• A duotone portrait of Thomas by Marion Morehouse is tipped onto the title page
• Two issues, both 1952: a signed limited issue of 100 copies on Stoneridge paper, bound in beige cloth lettered in gilt and housed in a slipcase with a printed label; and an unsigned trade issue of 5,000 copies on Kilmory paper in green to blue-green paper-covered boards lettered in brown on spine and front board, in a priced jacket (price present at the flap)
• Recorded as Rolph B15

How New Directions, New York marked a first edition

• Modern paperbacks carry a descending number line; lowest digit (1) present indicates first printing.

Full New Directions, New York 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 US 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?

The US edition is the true first — an uncommon case for Thomas. New Directions, New York, 1952 is the only separate edition of this title; no separate UK edition of In Country Sleep has been traced in dealer or library records consulted. In Britain the six poems appeared within Collected Poems 1934–1952 (J. M. Dent, London, 1952), a collected volume rather than a competing first of this title. Within the New Directions edition, the signed limited issue of 100 copies and the trade issue of 5,000 are both dated 1952; firm priority between the two is not documented in the sources consulted.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue documented for this title. The common 'first thus' traps are later New Directions printings and the poems' collected appearance (Dent, London, 1952; New Directions, New York, 1953). Absence of the tipped-in Morehouse portrait from the title page, or a jacket lacking the price at the flap, should prompt closer examination of the copy.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of In Country Sleep and Other Poems a first edition?

A first edition of In Country Sleep and Other Poems by Dylan Thomas (New Directions, New York) is identified by: First edition, New Directions, New York, 1952.

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 US edition is the true first — an uncommon case for Thomas.

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

No book-club issue documented for this title. The common 'first thus' traps are later New Directions printings and the poems' collected appearance (Dent, London, 1952; New Directions, New York, 1953). Absence of the tipped-in Morehouse portrait from the title page, or a jacket lacking the price at the flap, should prompt closer examination of the copy.

I have a first edition of In Country Sleep and Other Poems — 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.