Is My Laughable Loves a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First American edition, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1974; translated from the Czech by Suzanne Rappaport, with an introduction by Philip Roth, and issued as part of Roth's 'Writers from the Other Europe' series
• Bound in dark mustard cloth with the spine lettered in gilt; the top page edges are dyed lilac
• Issued in a pictorial dust jacket with the price printed on the front flap (that printed price should be present, though a price-clipped jacket does not by itself disqualify a first)
• The collection gathers seven stories

How Alfred A. Knopf marked a first edition

• c.1970s onward (number-line era, added ALONGSIDE the words — it did not replace them): later Knopf firsts also carry a descending numeric printer's key (often with a manufacturing/printer code). A first printing shows th…

Full Alfred A. Knopf first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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?

First English-language edition of the story collection Smesne lasky. Precedes any later Penguin reissue, which appeared in a revised form.P-021929

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Confirm the true first by the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page; the dark mustard cloth, gilt spine, and lilac-dyed top edges together with the priced pictorial jacket support first-printing identification, as no reliable single blind-stamp point is documented.P-021930

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Laughable Loves a first edition?

A first edition of Laughable Loves by Milan Kundera (Alfred A. Knopf) is identified by: First American edition, Alfred A.

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. First English-language edition of the story collection Smesne lasky.

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

Confirm the true first by the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page; the dark mustard cloth, gilt spine, and lilac-dyed top edges together with the priced pictorial jacket support first-printing identification, as no reliable single blind-stamp point is documented.

I have a first edition of Laughable Loves — 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.