Is My Knight's Gambit a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Random House, New York, 1949
• 8vo, [6], 246 pp; publisher's red cloth, spine and front board stamped in gilt over black; in the pictorial dust jacket designed by E. McKnight Kauffer, with the price present at the front flap (a priced jacket is the wanted state)
• The first printing carries NO edition or printing statement on the copyright page — dealers phrase it as "no statement of edition or printing on copyright page (correct identification for this issue)" and "first printing does not appear on verso of the title page"; later printings are stated there
• Note that this differs from the earlier Random House Faulkners of the 1930s–the printed price, which do state "FIRST PRINTING" — do not apply that test here
• UNSETTLED POINT: dealers disagree on the top-edge stain
• The majority describe blue or gray-blue; one reference describes black and another green

How Random House marked a first edition

• Stated-edition era (c.1936–1975): trade first printings are plainly marked with the words 'First Edition' (or, on some earlier titles, 'First Printing') on the copyright page, with NO number line yet in use; a copyright…
• Divisional practice — share the STATEMENT, not the '2'-line: sister divisions state 'First Edition' as their firsts (Alfred A. Knopf consistently since 1933–34; Pantheon since 1964), so the words work across the family.…

Full Random House 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?

Census claim CONFIRMED: the US Random House, New York, 1949 is the true first. Chatto & Windus, London, 1951 is the first English edition and is separately collected: publisher's blue cloth, gilt lettering to the spine, blue top edge, in a dust jacket by Lynton Lamb. One UK dealer records that the Chatto edition went to a second impression in May 1951 with the first impression appearing the previous month, so on a UK copy the impression statement should be checked — the 1951 date alone does not guarantee a first impression. Six Gavin Stevens stories; five had appeared in periodicals and the title story appears here for the first time.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted for this title; the specific club tells sometimes asserted for mid-century Faulkner (blind stamp to the rear board, unpriced jacket, reduced trim) are not attested for Knight's Gambit in any source checked and should not be published as points. The documented reprint tell is the copyright page: later printings are stated, the first is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Knight's Gambit a first edition?

A first edition of Knight's Gambit by William Faulkner (Random House) is identified by: Random House, New York, 1949.

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 claim CONFIRMED: the US Random House, New York, 1949 is the true first.

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

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted for this title; the specific club tells sometimes asserted for mid-century Faulkner (blind stamp to the rear board, unpriced jacket, reduced trim) are not attested for Knight's Gambit in any source checked and should not be published as points. The documented reprint tell is the copyright page: later printings are stated, the first is not.

I have a first edition of Knight's Gambit — 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.