# Is "Party Going" by Henry Green a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Party Going by Henry Green (The Hogarth Press, 1939) is identified by: True first: London, The Hogarth Press, 1939, one volume, 8vo, 255 pp.; the edition was limited to 1,200 copies. The Hogarth Press London 1939 edition is the true first, and there was no contemporaneous American edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first: London, The Hogarth Press, 1939, one volume, 8vo, 255 pp.; the edition was limited to 1,200 copies
- Original blue cloth lettered in gilt on the spine
- The dust jacket was designed by John Banting; a first-issue jacket is a priced jacket with the (net) price present at the lower front flap
- Standard bibliographical reference: Woolmer, 'A Checklist of the Hogarth Press,' 449
- Print run, blue cloth, the Banting jacket and the priced flap are corroborated across several independent dealer descriptions (James Cummins, Ashton Rare Books, John Atkinson)
- Publisher imprint reads The Hogarth Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Henry Green |
| Publisher | The Hogarth Press |
| Year | 1939 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first: London, The Hogarth Press, 1939, one volume, 8vo, 255 pp.; the edition was limited to 1,200 copies |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
True first: London, The Hogarth Press, 1939, one volume, 8vo, 255 pp.; the edition was limited to 1,200 copies. Original blue cloth lettered in gilt on the spine. The dust jacket was designed by John Banting; a first-issue jacket is a priced jacket with the (net) price present at the lower front flap. Standard bibliographical reference: Woolmer, 'A Checklist of the Hogarth Press,' 449. Print run, blue cloth, the Banting jacket and the priced flap are corroborated across several independent dealer descriptions (James Cummins, Ashton Rare Books, John Atkinson).

## Is this the true first?
The Hogarth Press London 1939 edition is the true first, and there was no contemporaneous American edition. The first US edition did not appear until Viking Press, New York, in 1951 — twelve years later — so any American 'first' is a first-thus, not the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue for the 1939 Hogarth first (print run only 1,200 copies). The 1951 Viking US edition and all later reprints (Hogarth reissues, Picador, Harvill, NYRB Classics) are later 'first thus.'

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Party Going* by Henry Green a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/party-going
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.