Is My Sea Garden a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition: Constable & Company Ltd., London, 1916 — H.D.'s first book of poems, issued in "The New Poetry Series" and printed by the Chiswick Press (Charles Whittingham and Co.), Tooks Court, Chancery Lane
• Collation v, 47 pp., roughly 5 the printed price x 7 the printed price inches (20 cm), with a half-title bearing a printer's device, title page, contents, and a printer's mark on the reverse of page 47; the first contains twenty-eight poems
• The binding is the key point and is distinctive: red textured paper wrappers over flexible boards, titled in black on the spine and on the front cover, the front cover also carrying a printer's device
• There is no edition statement or number line — the Constable imprint, the 1916 date, the red paper wrappers and the v, 47 pp. collation together identify the first
• The author is given on the title page simply as "H. D." Spine splits and chipping at the wrapper ends are endemic to the format and are condition, not state

How Constable & Company Ltd., London marked a first edition

• Late 1890s to about 1920 (the modern London Archibald Constable & Co.): firsts typically carry the date on the title page with no later-printing notice; subsequent printings remove the title-page date or add an impressio…
• About 1920 to about 1960: 'First published (year)' on the copyright page; a first impression lists no reprints, while later printings add dated reprint lines.

Full Constable & Company Ltd., London 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 UK 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?

UK Constable is the true first and the census is correct on precedence, but its supporting claim is wrong and is corrected here. The first American edition is Houghton Mifflin, Boston and New York, 1917 — not "the same year" — catalogued as Boughn A2 aii and bound in publisher's blue-green wraps printed in black, collating vi, 47, [1] pp. It is a distinct binding from the London issue, and no source consulted documents it as being printed from imported English sheets; that part of the census note is unsupported and should not be repeated. One bibliography does list the American edition as 1916, conflicting with the dealer and catalogue record of 1917, so the American edition's date should be treated as unsettled pending a Boughn collation. None of this disturbs the London Constable 1916 priority, which is not in conflict across sources. H.D. wrote in English; no original-language question arises.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue for a 1916 wrappered poetry pamphlet. The reprint tells are the first American edition (Houghton Mifflin, Boston & New York, 1917, blue-green printed wraps — frequently offered simply as "first edition") and the modern reissues: New Directions and Project Gutenberg/print-on-demand texts, plus scholarly reprints. Because both the London and Boston issues are wrappered and both collate to 47 pages of text, wrapper colour is the fastest sort — red over flexible boards for the London first, blue-green for the Boston issue.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Sea Garden a first edition?

A first edition of Sea Garden by H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) (Constable & Company Ltd., London) is identified by: First edition: Constable & Company Ltd., London, 1916 — H.D.'s first book of poems, issued in "The New Poetry Series" and printed by the Chiswick Press (Charles Whittingham and Co.), Tooks Court, Chancery Lane.

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). UK Constable is the true first and the census is correct on precedence, but its supporting claim is wrong and is corrected here.

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

No book-club issue for a 1916 wrappered poetry pamphlet. The reprint tells are the first American edition (Houghton Mifflin, Boston & New York, 1917, blue-green printed wraps — frequently offered simply as "first edition") and the modern reissues: New Directions and Project Gutenberg/print-on-demand texts, plus scholarly reprints. Because both the London and Boston issues are wrappered and both collate to 47 pages of text, wrapper colour is the fastest sort — red over flexible boards for the Lon

I have a first edition of Sea Garden — 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.