Is My Poet in New York a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first edition is The Poet in New York and Other Poems, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 1940 — a bilingual volume (Spanish text with Rolfe Humphries' English translation), with a short introduction and biographical note, issued in a pictorial dust jacket
• ABAA dealer consensus dates it several weeks ahead of the Spanish-only Poeta en Nueva York from José Bergamín's Editorial Séneca, Mexico City, 1940 (Norton published late May 1940 against the Séneca colophon of 15 June 1940)
• Both are posthumous (Lorca was murdered in 1936) and derive from different manuscript sources — the origin of the long textual-authenticity debate raised by Eutimio Martín in 1972, which concerns which text is authoritative, NOT which book appeared first

How W.W. Norton, New York marked a first edition

• Early/statement-only era (1923 to roughly the late 1950s–early 1960s): a first printing carries the words 'First Edition' on the copyright page, and Norton simply DROPPED that line on later printings — there was no print…

Full W.W. Norton, New York 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?

Posthumous work with parallel 1940 firsts. Contrary to the 'priority famously disputed' framing, ABAA dealers (Burnside, Between the Covers, Raptis, Ken Lopez) agree the New York Norton edition is the true first and precedes the Mexico City Séneca edition — so the US bilingual edition precedes the original-language Spanish printing. Name both: Norton 1940 (first edition / first bilingual appearance) and Séneca 1940 (first Spanish-only edition); both are collected. No London/UK edition belongs to the early line.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Poet in New York a first edition?

A first edition of Poet in New York by Federico García Lorca (W.W. Norton, New York) is identified by: The first edition is The Poet in New York and Other Poems, W.W.

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. Posthumous work with parallel 1940 firsts.

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

No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first; look for a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price.

I have a first edition of Poet in New York — 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.