Is My Miss Pym Disposes a First Edition?

The points of issue

• CONFIRMED, WITH THE YEAR CORRECTED. The first edition is Peter Davies, London, and its copyright page states "First published 1946" — but the book was not actually issued until 1947, and two independent sources establish this
• The Library of Congress catalogues the Peter Davies edition as "London, P. Davies [1947]" carrying the explicit note: "First published 1946 [i.e
• 1947]"; the Classic Crime Fiction checklist independently records "Book dated 1946 but ECB says published date May 1947" (ECB = the English Catalogue of Books, the contemporary trade record)
• The practical consequence is that a copy stating "First published 1946" IS the correct first issue — the 1946 statement is a point, not a defect, and cataloguers who record the book as 1947 are describing the same edition, not a later one
• Classic Crime Fiction records the binding as purple cloth lettered in white/pink with a priced jacket (price present at the flap); that binding description is single-sourced here and was not independently corroborated
• The first American edition is Macmillan, New York, 1948 (copyright 1947) per the Library of Congress record "New York : Macmillan, 1948, c1947", and under the Macmillan (US) convention from mid-1936 states "First printing" on the copyright page

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 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 precedes US, so the census claim's precedence is confirmed — but its year is corrected. The true first is Peter Davies, London, stated 1946 and actually issued May 1947; the first American edition is Macmillan, New York, 1948 (copyright 1947). Both are collected — name both. The stated-1946 / issued-1947 split is the single most useful fact about this book: it is one edition, not two, and neither year alone describes it accurately. The Macmillan "Three by Tey" omnibus (New York, 1954), the R. Bentley (1981) issue reprinted from that omnibus, and Collier Books (1988, c1948) are all reprints and first-thus traps.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue points specific to this title are documented in the sources consulted. Check the general tells: an unpriced jacket flap or "Book Club Edition" printed at the flap, a blind stamp debossed into the rear board near the spine, and reduced bulk against the trade issue. Because the copyright page of a genuine first carries a 1946 statement, later omnibus- and reprint-derived issues (Macmillan 1954 omnibus, Bentley 1981, Collier 1988) are told apart by their own imprint and dating rather than by the 1946 line.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Miss Pym Disposes a first edition?

A first edition of Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey (Peter Davies) is identified by: CONFIRMED, WITH THE YEAR CORRECTED.

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 precedes US, so the census claim's precedence is confirmed — but its year is corrected.

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

No book-club issue points specific to this title are documented in the sources consulted. Check the general tells: an unpriced jacket flap or "Book Club Edition" printed at the flap, a blind stamp debossed into the rear board near the spine, and reduced bulk against the trade issue. Because the copyright page of a genuine first carries a 1946 statement, later omnibus- and reprint-derived issues (Macmillan 1954 omnibus, Bentley 1981, Collier 1988) are told apart by their own imprint and dating ra

I have a first edition of Miss Pym Disposes — 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.