Is My Love in a Cold Climate a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first printing published by Hamish Hamilton, London, 1949, in the publisher's original red cloth with the spine lettered in gilt (8vo, 304 pp.)
• Issued in a pictorial dust jacket; the first-issue jacket is unclipped with the price present at the front flap
• The title/copyright leaf bears the Hamish Hamilton 1949 imprint with no later-impression statement; the red cloth and gilt spine are corroborated across two independent ABAA/dealer descriptions

How Hamish Hamilton marked a first edition

• First printing = statement present with no list of later impressions

Full Hamish Hamilton first-edition guide →

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 Hamish Hamilton (London) 1949 is the true first and holds priority over the US Random House (New York) 1949 issue, which followed. Both the London first and the Random House American edition are collected; London has precedence, so the Hamish Hamilton printing is the one to seek as the true first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Hamish Hamilton impressions and a Reprint Society/Book Club issue exist; a book-club copy typically lacks the price at the flap and may carry a Reprint Society or 'Book Club' notice on the jacket or copyright page. Confirm the 1949 Hamish Hamilton imprint and the absence of any later-impression line.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Love in a Cold Climate a first edition?

A first edition of Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford (Hamish Hamilton) is identified by: First edition, first printing published by Hamish Hamilton, London, 1949, in the publisher's original red cloth with the spine lettered in gilt (8vo, 304 pp.).

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 Hamish Hamilton (London) 1949 is the true first and holds priority over the US Random House (New York) 1949 issue, which followed.

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

Later Hamish Hamilton impressions and a Reprint Society/Book Club issue exist; a book-club copy typically lacks the price at the flap and may carry a Reprint Society or 'Book Club' notice on the jacket or copyright page. Confirm the 1949 Hamish Hamilton imprint and the absence of any later-impression line.

I have a first edition of Love in a Cold Climate — 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.