Is My Copy of In Dreams Begin Responsibilities a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Schwartz's first book, published 12 December 1938 in an edition of 1,000 copies
• No edition or printing statement and no number line — identification rests on the imprint, the limitation and the physical book
• Tall 8vo (approximately 23.5 cm), bound in black cloth with the title stamped in gilt on the spine and the New Directions logo stamped in gilt on the front cover; collation [ii], [10], 11-171, [3] pp. Contents are a reliable structural check: the title story, the narrative poem "Coriolanus and His Mother," a section of 25 poems, and "Dr. Bergen's Belief," a play in prose and verse
• The jacket is scarce and the great majority of surviving copies lack it; where present it is a priced jacket, with the price present at the flap
• Advance review copies exist, rubberstamped by the publisher on the front flyleaf "Review Copy / Publication Date / Dec 12 1938" — these precede the trade issue and should be described as review copies, not as a distinct state of the book

How New Directions, Norfolk, Connecticut marked a first edition

• Late 1940s through 1969: a true first has NO additional printings/dates listed on the copyright page — there is no consistent 'First Edition' statement in this era, so absence of later-printing notice plus correct first-…
• Modern paperbacks carry a descending number line; lowest digit (1) present indicates first printing.

Full New Directions, Norfolk, Connecticut first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
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?

New Directions, Norfolk, Connecticut, 1938 is the true first. No UK edition has been traced, so US-only precedence stands. One genuine precedence caveat: the title story first appeared in the inaugural issue of Partisan Review in 1937, a year before the book; that periodical appearance precedes the book but is a magazine printing, not a collected edition, and does not displace the 1938 New Directions as the first edition in book form.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented; the 1,000-copy first was too small and too literary for club distribution. The principal first-thus trap is New Directions' posthumous In Dreams Begin Responsibilities and Other Stories (1978), a different, resettext selection with a different title that is widely offered under the 1938 title — it is not the first edition. Screeno: Stories and Poems (2004) is likewise a later selection. Any copy titled "...and Other Stories," or in any binding other than the black gilt-stamped cloth, is not the 1938 first.P-043660

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of In Dreams Begin Responsibilities a first edition?

A first edition of In Dreams Begin Responsibilities by Delmore Schwartz (New Directions, Norfolk, Connecticut) is identified by: Schwartz's first book, published 12 December 1938 in an edition of 1,000 copies.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). New Directions, Norfolk, Connecticut, 1938 is the true first.

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

No book-club edition is documented; the 1,000-copy first was too small and too literary for club distribution. The principal first-thus trap is New Directions' posthumous In Dreams Begin Responsibilities and Other Stories (1978), a different, resettext selection with a different title that is widely offered under the 1938 title — it is not the first edition. Screeno: Stories and Poems (2004) is likewise a later selection.

I have a first edition of In Dreams Begin Responsibilities — 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.