The points of issue
First edition thus, a compilation original to English rather than a translation of a single Spanish book. New Directions, 1962: quarter black cloth with patterned paper-covered boards, frontispiece portrait, edited by Donald A. Yates and James E. Irby with a preface by André Maurois. The hardcover in dust jacket is the collectible first issue; New Directions also issued the title as a paperbook (NDP186) in the same period. The 1962 first contains fewer pieces than the text as later augmented in 1964, so an early printing should not include the additional 1964 material.
Is this the true first?
First-thus: this anthology has no single Spanish-language counterpart, so the 1962 New Directions edition is itself the true first of this collection. It and Grove's Ficciones (also 1962) jointly introduced Borges to English-language readers.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Kept in print for decades as a paperbook; later printings carry the augmented (post-1964) text and updated copyright pages. The simultaneous paperbook is not the hardcover first.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: First edition thus, a compilation original to English rather than a translation of a single Spanish book. New Directions, 1962: quarter black cloth with patterned paper-covered boards, frontispiece portrait, edited by Donald A. Yates and James E. Irby with a preface by André Maurois. The hardcover in dust jacket is the collectible first issue; New Directions also issued the title as a paperbook (NDP186) in the same period. The 1962 first contains fewer pieces than the text as later augmented in 1964, so an early printing should not include the additional 19
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. First-thus: this anthology has no single Spanish-language counterpart, so the 1962 New Directions edition is itself the true first of this collection. It and Grove's Ficciones (also 1962) jointly introduced Borges to English-language readers.
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
Kept in print for decades as a paperbook; later printings carry the augmented (post-1964) text and updated copyright pages. The simultaneous paperbook is not the hardcover first.
I have a first edition of Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.