Is My Nightwood a First Edition?

The points of issue

• CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED — the Faber 1936 first edition does NOT contain T. S. Eliot's introduction, and a 'Faber 1936 with Eliot's introduction' is a contradiction in terms
• Eliot, as Faber's editor, acquired the book and pressed Barnes to cut it, but his introduction was written for and first printed in the first American edition (Harcourt, Brace, 1937)
• Faber added it only at their second edition of 1950
• First edition points: Faber and Faber, London; the copyright page reads 'First published in October Mcmxxxvi' with no further impressions listed — that statement, standing alone, is the identification
• 239, [1] pp., octavo
• Bound in publisher's purple/violet cloth lettered in gilt on the spine — the cloth commonly fades toward reddish-brown, which accounts for dealer descriptions varying between purple and reddish-brown for the same binding — with the top edge stained purple (often faded) and the bottom edge untrimmed

How Faber and Faber 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 and Faber 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?

TRUE FIRST IS UK — Faber and Faber, London, October 1936, precedes, and the census is correct on precedence despite Barnes being American. Both editions are collected. The first American edition, Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1937, is separately collected as the first appearance of T. S. Eliot's introduction; it is bound in dark blue cloth with a gilt-lettered spine and a fuchsia-stained top edge. Collectors wanting the Eliot introduction in its first appearance need the US 1937, not the UK 1936.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The Faber second edition of 1950, which adds Eliot's preface, is the principal 'first thus' trap — the presence of the Eliot preface in a Faber copy proves it is NOT the 1936 first. Also 'first thus': the Dalkey Archive Press edition restoring Barnes's fuller pre-Eliot text with apparatus by Cheryl J. Plumb, and the New Directions American reprints. No book-club issue of the Faber 1936 is documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Nightwood a first edition?

A first edition of Nightwood by Djuna Barnes (Faber and Faber) is identified by: CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED — the Faber 1936 first edition does NOT contain T.

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. TRUE FIRST IS UK — Faber and Faber, London, October 1936, precedes, and the census is correct on precedence despite Barnes being American.

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

The Faber second edition of 1950, which adds Eliot's preface, is the principal 'first thus' trap — the presence of the Eliot preface in a Faber copy proves it is NOT the 1936 first. Also 'first thus': the Dalkey Archive Press edition restoring Barnes's fuller pre-Eliot text with apparatus by Cheryl J. Plumb, and the New Directions American reprints. No book-club issue of the Faber 1936 is documented in the sources consulted.

I have a first edition of Nightwood — 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.