Is My Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man a First Edition?

The points of issue

• London: Faber & Gwyer, 1928 — first impression of 1,500 copies, issued 28 September 1928 with no author's name anywhere in the book: title page, spine and jacket all present the work as anonymous, the jacket blurb describing an author who wished for the present to remain anonymous
• That anonymity is the single most reliable point, because Sassoon's name was added during the second impression (after roughly its first 500 copies), so any copy naming him on the title page is not the first impression
• Bound in blue cloth lettered in gilt, top edge stained grey
• Dealers additionally cite an 'A' on the front blank/prelim and two typographic slips — 'merey' for 'merely' at line 1 of p.191, and a dropped 'o' in 'platoon' on the last line of p.365 — but Keynes's bibliography records these irregularities without assigning any priority to them, and ABA/PBFA dealers flatly contradict one another over whether they mark a first or a second issue
• Those misprints should therefore not be used to grade issue; rely on the anonymity and the Faber & Gwyer imprint

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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?

The London Faber & Gwyer 1928 issue is the true first, confirming the census claim. The imprint became Faber & Faber in 1929, so a 'Faber & Faber' title page is by definition a later impression or edition, never the first. The first American edition is Coward-McCann, New York, 1929, which carries Sassoon's name and William Nicholson's seven full-page drawings and was printed at the Chiswick Press in London; it is collected in its own right as the first illustrated American appearance, but it does not precede the London edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The 1929 Faber & Faber edition illustrated by William Nicholson is a first-illustrated 'first thus', not the first edition — a common trap. Later impressions are stated on the verso, and Sassoon's name on the title page marks a copy at earliest from the later part of the second impression. No book-club issue tells for this title were documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man a first edition?

A first edition of Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man by Siegfried Sassoon (Faber & Gwyer) is identified by: London: Faber & Gwyer, 1928 — first impression of 1,500 copies, issued 28 September 1928 with no author's name anywhere in the book: title page, spine and jacket all present the work as anonymous, the jacket blurb describing an author who wished for the present to remain anonymous.

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 London Faber & Gwyer 1928 issue is the true first, confirming the census claim.

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

The 1929 Faber & Faber edition illustrated by William Nicholson is a first-illustrated 'first thus', not the first edition — a common trap. Later impressions are stated on the verso, and Sassoon's name on the title page marks a copy at earliest from the later part of the second impression. No book-club issue tells for this title were documented in the sources consulted.

I have a first edition of Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man — 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.