Is My R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the Czech-language printing issued by Aventinum in Prague in 1920, ahead of the play's Prague stage premiere in early 1921
• It is an octavo (approx
• 222 x 150 mm) in original decorated lavender wrappers printed in brown and black, with all edges untrimmed
• Two independent ABAA dealer descriptions agree on a 100-page collation — recorded as [6], 7-96, [97], [98 blank], [99 colophon], [100 blank], and equivalently as [1-7] 8-96 [97-100] — and on the unusual issue state: the gatherings were inserted loose and unsewn, with only the first and final leaves glued to the wrappers
• The colophon states a printing of 2,000 copies
• Copies are routinely found with restoration to the spine and wrapper edges, a consequence of that fragile unsewn construction

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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 American 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?

The Czech Aventinum 1920 printing is the true first and is the book that introduced the word 'robot'. The first edition in English is Paul Selver's translation, published in 1923 in two distinct and textually different forms, both of which are collected: Oxford University Press (Humphrey Milford), London — Nigel Playfair's stage adaptation, small octavo in original printed black wrappers, pp. [1-5] 6-102 [103 ads] [104 blank]; and Doubleday, Page, Garden City, New York — the Theatre Guild version, reflecting the alterations made for the American production that opened at the Garrick Theatre in October 1922, with four illustrations from production photographs. The sources consulted do not establish which of the two appeared first within 1923, so neither should be described as 'the' first English edition without qualification; name the publisher.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The principal trap is internal to Aventinum: a revised version was issued in 1921, and it is a different text from the 1920 first — only the 1920 printing is the first edition. Later Oxford and Doubleday printings, and the many subsequent acting editions and translations, are reprints or 'first thus'. No book-club issue of the 1920 Czech printing was documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) a first edition?

A first edition of R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Čapek (Aventinum) is identified by: The true first is the Czech-language printing issued by Aventinum in Prague in 1920, ahead of the play's Prague stage premiere in early 1921.

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. The Czech Aventinum 1920 printing is the true first and is the book that introduced the word 'robot'.

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

The principal trap is internal to Aventinum: a revised version was issued in 1921, and it is a different text from the 1920 first — only the 1920 printing is the first edition. Later Oxford and Doubleday printings, and the many subsequent acting editions and translations, are reprints or 'first thus'. No book-club issue of the 1920 Czech printing was documented in the sources consulted.

I have a first edition of R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) — 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.