Is My Poeta en Nueva York (Poet in New York) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED — the Norton edition precedes the Séneca edition, not the reverse
• Norton first edition (New York, published 24 May 1940), titled 'The Poet in New York and Other Poems': bilingual, with the Spanish text and Rolfe Humphries' English translation printed side by side, an introduction and a closing biographical note by Hershel Brickell; bound in the publisher's orange cloth with the spine titles blocked in brown and gilt
• Its pictorial dust jacket carries a New York skyline cameo on the front panel and should be present and unclipped, with the price present at the flap
• Séneca first edition (Mexico City, colophon dated 15 June 1940, printed at Talleres Gráficos de la Editorial Cultura): issued in the Árbol series, 187 pp. + 1 blank, printed wrappers in two colours, roughly 24.5 x 18 cm, with four drawings by Lorca (two reproduced in colour on coated paper), a prefatory poem by Antonio Machado, and José Bergamín's editorial note and prologue 'La muerte vencida'

How W. W. Norton & Company, 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 & Company, 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. 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?

Both editions are collected and a serious reference must name both. Norton, New York, is the true first by roughly three weeks — 24 May 1940 against the Séneca colophon of 15 June 1940 — a precedence confirmed both by the dated record and independently by ABAA dealer cataloguing, which describes the Norton as preceding the Mexican edition by several weeks. Séneca is the first edition in Spanish only, and the first illustrated edition. Because Bergamín set his text from the manuscript Lorca left him — a manuscript since lost — and introduced his own arrangement and modifications, the two 1940 texts differ materially and neither is a reprint of the other. Spanish-language sources that call the two 'simultaneous' are describing the near-coincidence, not disputing the dated precedence.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented for either 1940 edition. The main reprint hazard is the facsimile of the Norton bilingual edition issued by the Patronato Cultural Federico García Lorca, which reproduces the 1940 sheets and is not a first; later Séneca-imprint printings and all modern Spanish trade editions likewise carry no first-edition standing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Poeta en Nueva York (Poet in New York) a first edition?

A first edition of Poeta en Nueva York (Poet in New York) by Federico García Lorca (W. W. Norton & Company, New York) is identified by: CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED — the Norton edition precedes the Séneca edition, not the reverse.

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. Both editions are collected and a serious reference must name both.

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

No book-club edition is documented for either 1940 edition. The main reprint hazard is the facsimile of the Norton bilingual edition issued by the Patronato Cultural Federico García Lorca, which reproduces the 1940 sheets and is not a first; later Séneca-imprint printings and all modern Spanish trade editions likewise carry no first-edition standing.

I have a first edition of Poeta en Nueva York (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.