Is My Copy of Mortal Acts, Mortal Words a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing stated on the copyright page with no added later-printing line; clothbound in dust jacket with the original price intact
• Cloth ISBN 0395291259; a simultaneous wrappers issue (ISBN 0395291267) also exists, with the cloth being the collector's first

How Houghton Mifflin marked a first edition

• Number-line era (early 1970s to 2007, HMH thereafter): the 'First Printing' statement was replaced by a descending number line on the copyright page. A first printing is indicated when the line runs down to and ENDS IN 1…

Full Houghton Mifflin 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 US 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 US Houghton Mifflin 1980 clothbound edition is the true first. This is the source volume for poems later gathered in the 1982 Selected Poems.P-009665

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later printings carry an added printing statement; the jacket is otherwise unchanged. Do not confuse the wrappers issue with the cloth first.P-009666

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Mortal Acts, Mortal Words a first edition?

A first edition of Mortal Acts, Mortal Words by Galway Kinnell (Houghton Mifflin) is identified by: First printing stated on the copyright page with no added later-printing line; clothbound in dust jacket with the original price intact.

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 US Houghton Mifflin 1980 clothbound edition is the true first.

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

Later printings carry an added printing statement; the jacket is otherwise unchanged. Do not confuse the wrappers issue with the cloth first.

I have a first edition of Mortal Acts, Mortal Words — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.