Is My One Man's Initiation: 1917 a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Dos Passos's first book
• The true first is the London Allen & Unwin edition, published October 1920, in blue cloth
• The text was bowdlerized, with passages cut or blanked for the censors (later restored in the 1969 Cornell University Press edition set from uncorrected proofs)

How George Allen & Unwin, London marked a first edition

• First editions state "First published [Year]" or "First published in [Year]" on the copyright page (frequently with the printer named), later printings noted with added impression lines
• First printing = the 'First published' statement with NO subsequent-impression notation

Full George Allen & Unwin, London first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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?

UK precedes US. The first American edition was published by George H. Doran Company, New York, in June 1922 (a separate first American printing, not the true first). The 1945 Philosophical Library edition retitled First Encounter is a later reprint with a new author introduction.P-015211

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book club. Do not mistake the 1922 Doran American edition or the 1945 First Encounter reprint for the true first; only the 1920 London Allen & Unwin edition is the first.P-015212

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of One Man's Initiation: 1917 a first edition?

A first edition of One Man's Initiation: 1917 by John Dos Passos (George Allen & Unwin, London) is identified by: Dos Passos's first book.

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. UK precedes US.

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

No book club. Do not mistake the 1922 Doran American edition or the 1945 First Encounter reprint for the true first; only the 1920 London Allen & Unwin edition is the first.

I have a first edition of One Man's Initiation: 1917 — 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.