Is My Saturday Night and Sunday Morning a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first impression: W. H. Allen, London, 1958
• Bound in the publisher's red boards (described by dealers as red buckram) with the spine lettered in gilt
• The dust wrapper was designed by Mona Moore and is printed in green, black and red, depicting Arthur Seaton and Doreen; on unclipped copies the price is present at the flap, printed in bold red lettering
• Binding colour, gilt spine lettering and the Mona Moore jacket are each corroborated by two independent PBFA/ABA/ILAB dealer descriptions
• No independent transcription of the copyright-page verso was located in this pass, so none is published here: read the verso and treat any added reprint or impression statement as ruling out a first impression rather than relying on the 1958 title-page year

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. 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 American 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?

True first is W. H. Allen, London, 1958 — the census claim is confirmed. This was Sillitoe's first novel and won the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award for 1958. The first American edition is Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1959 (239 pp.), issued in a priced jacket with the price at the flap; it is collected as the American first but follows the London edition. Both are collected; the W. H. Allen 1958 has precedence.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue of the W. H. Allen first was corroborated against two independent sources in this pass, and none is asserted. The 1960 film adaptation drove later hardcover printings and paperback issues; all carry their own imprints on the title page and are not the first. The 1964 stage adaptation likewise generated later text issues that are 'first thus' at best.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning a first edition?

A first edition of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe (W. H. Allen) is identified by: First edition, first impression: 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. True first is W.

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

No book-club issue of the W. H. Allen first was corroborated against two independent sources in this pass, and none is asserted. The 1960 film adaptation drove later hardcover printings and paperback issues; all carry their own imprints on the title page and are not the first. The 1964 stage adaptation likewise generated later text issues that are 'first thus' at best.

I have a first edition of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning — 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.