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First-Edition Identification · C.S. Lewis

Is My Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer a First Edition?

Geoffrey Bles, 1964

The points of issue

First UK edition 1964 (posthumous); green cloth boards with gilt titles, dust jacket designed by Michael Harvey; title page dated 1964 with no later-impression statement.

Decode the printer’s key: paste the number line into the decoder.

Is this the true first?

UK Bles true first; US Harcourt, Brace and World edition follows later in 1964.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later printings differ.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer a first edition?

Look for these first-edition points: First UK edition 1964 (posthumous); green cloth boards with gilt titles, dust jacket designed by Michael Harvey; title page dated 1964 with no later-impression statement.

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. UK Bles true first; US Harcourt, Brace and World edition follows later in 1964.

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

Later printings differ.

I have a first edition of Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer — 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.

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