Is My Little Caesar a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first: Lincoln MacVeagh / The Dial Press, New York, 1929 — the author's first book — in navy blue cloth lettered in yellow on spine and front cover with the publisher's device stamped in blind on the front board; pagination [viii], [2], 3-308, [4] pp, top edge trimmed and other edges uncut
• The dust jacket is by Irving Politzer, with the price present at the flap on first-issue jackets; no printing statement or copyright-page points are documented — identification rests on the Lincoln MacVeagh/Dial imprint, the binding, and the Politzer jacket

How Lincoln MacVeagh / The Dial Press marked a first edition

• Pre-mid-1960s (classic Dial, incl. early Baldwin/Mailer firsts): first edition identified by the SAME DATE appearing on both the title page and the copyright page, with no later-printing statement. Early imprints may rea…
• Mid/late-1960s to ~1980: first printings stated 'First Printing (Year)' on the copyright page, with subsequent printings explicitly noted.

Full Lincoln MacVeagh / The Dial Press 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. Verify this is the British true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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?

The Dial Press (New York) 1929 edition is the true first of the founding gangster novel. Jonathan Cape (London) issued the first British edition, also 1929, in red cloth with gilt-stamped spine, the publisher's device in blind on the rear panel, and a glossary (pp. 285-288); both editions are collected.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The Literary Guild issued a contemporary book-club printing shortly after publication that is frequently confused with the first — the first edition is scarcer than it appears. A. L. Burt issued a photoplay reprint in 1931 with a frontispiece and two black-and-white film stills; both are later issues, not firsts.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Little Caesar a first edition?

A first edition of Little Caesar by W. R. Burnett (Lincoln MacVeagh / The Dial Press) is identified by: True first: Lincoln MacVeagh / The Dial Press, New York, 1929 — the author's first book — in navy blue cloth lettered in yellow on spine and front cover with the publisher's device stamped in blind on the front board; pagination [viii], [2], 3-308, [4] pp, top edge trimmed and other edges uncut.

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. The Dial Press (New York) 1929 edition is the true first of the founding gangster novel.

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

The Literary Guild issued a contemporary book-club printing shortly after publication that is frequently confused with the first — the first edition is scarcer than it appears. A. L. Burt issued a photoplay reprint in 1931 with a frontispiece and two black-and-white film stills; both are later issues, not firsts.

I have a first edition of Little Caesar — 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.