Is My Lupercal a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first impression: octavo (216 x 137mm), pp
• 63 + [1 blank], printed by the Bowering Press for Faber; original violet cloth (described variously by dealers as violet, purple or maroon) lettered in gilt at the spine, in Berthold Wolpe's typographic dust wrapper printed on green laid paper
• The wrapper should be unclipped with the price present at the flap
• Published 18 March 1960 in 2,250 copies
• Sagar & Tabor A3.a.1
• The printed dedication "to Sylvia" (Sylvia Plath) is present

How Faber & Faber, London marked a first edition

• First printings state "First published in [Year]" (often "First published in mcmxxxx") on the copyright/verso page, with no list of later impressions
• Prior to 1968 the year was set in ROMAN NUMERALS (e.g. 'First published in mcmliv'); from 1968 onward Arabic numerals were used — a key dating tell

Full Faber & Faber, London 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 American 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?

Faber & Faber (London), 18 March 1960 is the true first, confirming the census claim; Hughes received author's copies on 23 February 1960, ahead of publication. The Harper & Brothers (New York) 1960 issue is the first American — 750 copies, Sagar & Tabor A3.a.2, in purple cloth — and follows the Faber. Both are collected. The American issue is identified by "Harper" stamped on the spine and by page 5 being numbered.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented. The one firmly documented reprint tell is on the American side: the second impression of the Harper & Brothers issue leaves page 5 unnumbered, where the first impression has it numbered.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Lupercal a first edition?

A first edition of Lupercal by Ted Hughes (Faber & Faber, London) is identified by: First edition, first impression: octavo (216 x 137mm), 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. Faber & Faber (London), 18 March 1960 is the true first, confirming the census claim; Hughes received author's copies on 23 February 1960, ahead of publication.

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

No book-club edition documented. The one firmly documented reprint tell is on the American side: the second impression of the Harper & Brothers issue leaves page 5 unnumbered, where the first impression has it numbered.

I have a first edition of Lupercal — 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.