Is My Copy of Renascence and Other Poems a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, Yost 3: Mitchell Kennerley, New York, 1917 — Millay's first book, printed by Vail-Ballou of Binghamton, New York
• 12mo, [vi], 73 pp., in publisher's black cloth lettered in gilt on the spine and on the upper cover, edges untrimmed/deckled
• There is no printing statement and no number line; the issue is decided by the paper, not the title page
• FIRST ISSUE: leaves watermarked 'AGM Glaslan', deckle-edged, with the blank leaves present at front and back (a blank preceding the half-title)
• SECOND ISSUE of the same printing: leaves watermarked 'MBM', the front and rear blanks absent, and punctuation corrected
• A further variant on laid paper watermarked 'MB' is recorded

How Mitchell Kennerley, New York marked a first edition

• c.1906–c.1924: No formal 'first edition' statement. First printings are identified by the absence of later-printing notices and by the title-page date matching the copyright date; production points and binding/jacket…

Full Mitchell Kennerley, 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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
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?

US-only original; Millay wrote in English and there is no competing UK or original-language edition. The Glaslan watermark is the first-issue point. No source corroborates any large-paper or limitation issue of this book (a claim of '15 large-paper copies' circulates), and no dealer or auction description examined records a limitation page. The claim appears to conflate this title with the separate limited printing of 'Renascence: A Poem', a small signed printing variously reported at roughly 126 to 186 copies, which is a different publication. It is not repeated here. Separately, the title poem had appeared earlier in the anthology The Lyric Year (Mitchell Kennerley, 1912): that is first-in-print for 'Renascence', but it is not the book.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented. The reprint tell is the imprint: Harper & Brothers took Millay over and reissued the collection, so any Harper copy is a reprint however the date reads — dealers state the point as 'published by Kennerley (not Harper)'. Within Kennerley copies, the MBM and MB watermarks and the missing front/rear blanks mark the later issues of the first printing, not a later edition. Modern facsimile and print-on-demand copies of the 1917 sheets circulate and carry modern ISBNs.P-038383

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Renascence and Other Poems a first edition?

A first edition of Renascence and Other Poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay (Mitchell Kennerley, New York) is identified by: First edition, Yost 3: Mitchell Kennerley, New York, 1917 — Millay's first book, printed by Vail-Ballou of Binghamton, New York.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). US-only original; Millay wrote in English and there is no competing UK or original-language edition.

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

No book-club issue is documented. The reprint tell is the imprint: Harper & Brothers took Millay over and reissued the collection, so any Harper copy is a reprint however the date reads — dealers state the point as 'published by Kennerley (not Harper)'. Within Kennerley copies, the MBM and MB watermarks and the missing front/rear blanks mark the later issues of the first printing, not a later edition.

I have a first edition of Renascence and Other Poems — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.