# Is "On Seeming to Presume" by Lawrence Durrell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of On Seeming to Presume by Lawrence Durrell (Faber & Faber, 1948) is identified by: First edition, first printing, published by Faber and Faber, London, in 1948. The UK Faber and Faber London 1948 printing is the true first edition; there was no separate earlier or American first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing, published by Faber and Faber, London, in 1948
- Issued in the publisher's red cloth boards with the supplied dust jacket
- A collection of Durrell's poems
- A first-issue jacket should retain its printed net price on the front flap (a price-clipped example is a condition matter, not a later state)
- Endpapers on this period Faber stock are commonly foxed
- Publisher imprint reads Faber & Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lawrence Durrell |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
| Year | 1948 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing, published by Faber and Faber, London, in 1948 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing, published by Faber and Faber, London, in 1948. Issued in the publisher's red cloth boards with the supplied dust jacket. A collection of Durrell's poems. A first-issue jacket should retain its printed net price on the front flap (a price-clipped example is a condition matter, not a later state). Endpapers on this period Faber stock are commonly foxed.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Faber and Faber London 1948 printing is the true first edition; there was no separate earlier or American first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *On Seeming to Presume* by Lawrence Durrell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/on-seeming-to-presume
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.