Is My Not Without Laughter a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is Alfred A. Knopf, 1930 (title page "New York and London"), Hughes's first novel, 326 pp., bound in tan cloth stamped in dark brown and green with a decorative border; a scarce pictorial dust jacket (attributed by dealers to Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas) was issued and is now seldom found
• The copyright page of the first edition reads "First and Second Printing Before Publication — July, 1930"; two dealers independently corroborate the tan cloth and this wording
• CAUTION on a common conflation: claims of an "Amy Spingarn frontispiece printed on Dard Hunter handmade paper" belong to Hughes's separate 1931 Troutbeck Press book Dear Lovely Death (100 copies) and must NOT be used to identify this trade novel
• Note also the Knopf-era ambiguity: because printings one and two were both run before publication and share the same statement, they are generally indistinguishable, and copies lacking the statement are later printings

How Alfred A. Knopf marked a first edition

• 1915–c.1933 (no stated-edition era): first printings carry NO first-edition notation at all. Identify by EXCLUSION — a genuine first has none of the later-printing legends ('Second Printing,' 'Third Printing,' etc.) that…
• c.1933/1934 onward (stated 'First Edition' era — the core rule): Knopf began consistently printing 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page of first printings, or 'FIRST AMERICAN EDITION' when the book had already appeared…

Full Alfred A. Knopf 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 Knopf 1930 is the true first (Hughes's first novel); the London issue is the same Knopf publication, not a separate press. English-language original; US precedes.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Copies without the "First and Second Printing Before Publication — July, 1930" line are later printings. Watch the Dard Hunter / Amy Spingarn frontispiece conflation with Dear Lovely Death (1931). No separate first-printing dust-jacket price point could be confirmed given the jacket's rarity.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Not Without Laughter a first edition?

A first edition of Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes (Alfred A. Knopf) is identified by: The true first is Alfred A.

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 Knopf 1930 is the true first (Hughes's first novel); the London issue is the same Knopf publication, not a separate press.

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

Copies without the "First and Second Printing Before Publication — July, 1930" line are later printings. Watch the Dard Hunter / Amy Spingarn frontispiece conflation with Dear Lovely Death (1931). No separate first-printing dust-jacket price point could be confirmed given the jacket's rarity.

I have a first edition of Not Without Laughter — 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.