Is My Copy of North & South a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Bishop's first book; won the Houghton Mifflin Poetry/Literary Fellowship Award
• First printing of 1,000 copies (a second printing of 500 followed)
• Blue cloth, lettering and a silver compass rose stamped to the upper board; dust jacket designed by Samuel Hanks Bryant; [viii], 54 pp., octavo
• The first printing carries no statement of additional printings; the second printing (500 copies) is so noted

How Houghton Mifflin marked a first edition

• Late-19th to mid-20th century (c.1880s–1950s): the operative tell is the title page. Houghton Mifflin almost invariably printed the year of first publication, in Arabic numerals, on the title page of a first printing…
• Transitional years (roughly late 1930s–1950s): practice is less uniform before the formal statement settled in. Continue to rely on the matching title-page/copyright-page date and the absence of any printing-history…

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?

US Houghton Mifflin (1946) is the true first; there is no prior UK edition.P-007890

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book club. The second printing is identified by its printing statement. The 1955 'Poems: North & South — A Cold Spring' (the Pulitzer winner) is a different, later book that incorporates this collection.P-007891

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of North & South a first edition?

A first edition of North & South by Elizabeth Bishop (Houghton Mifflin) is identified by: Bishop's first book; won the Houghton Mifflin Poetry/Literary Fellowship Award.

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. US Houghton Mifflin (1946) is the true first; there is no prior UK edition.

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

No book club. The second printing is identified by its printing statement. The 1955 'Poems: North & South — A Cold Spring' (the Pulitzer winner) is a different, later book that incorporates this collection.

I have a first edition of North & South — 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.