Is My Last Poems a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Published 19 October 1922
• The first-impression point is a punctuation error: the first two lines of poem XXVI on page 52 carry no punctuation marks
• Grant Richards offered to insert an errata slip and Housman refused — 'The blunder will probably enhance the value of the printed pricet edition in the eyes of bibliophiles, an idiotic class' — so the error stands uncorrected in the first impression and was corrected in the reprints, which followed within the same month
• Because those later impressions are also dated 1922, the reading on page 52, not the title-page date, is what identifies the first
• Small octavo in publisher's dark blue cloth, lettered in gilt on the spine and upper board
• Sources consulted give the collation as either 78 or 79 pages, so treat the figure as unsettled

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?

UK precedes US. Grant Richards (London), 19 October 1922, is the true first. Henry Holt and Company (New York) published the first American edition later the same year — dealer copies record it as printed in November 1922 — and it is a separate edition rather than an issue of the London sheets; both are dated 1922, so the imprint separates them. Last Poems is the companion volume to A Shropshire Lad (1896) and the two are collected together, but note that A Shropshire Lad has its own and considerably thornier precedence and issue history (Kegan Paul, London, 1896, published at the author's expense); none of its points transfer to this book.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition. The reprint risk is the several Grant Richards impressions that followed the first within weeks and are also dated 1922 — these have the page 52 punctuation corrected, which is the reliable discriminator. The 1922 Henry Holt (New York) printing, and all later Holt, trade, and Housman Society printings, are separate editions rather than states of the first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Last Poems a first edition?

A first edition of Last Poems by A. E. Housman (Grant Richards, London) is identified by: Published 19 October 1922.

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. UK precedes US.

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

No book-club edition. The reprint risk is the several Grant Richards impressions that followed the first within weeks and are also dated 1922 — these have the page 52 punctuation corrected, which is the reliable discriminator. The 1922 Henry Holt (New York) printing, and all later Holt, trade, and Housman Society printings, are separate editions rather than states of the first.

I have a first edition of Last 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.