Is My South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition a First Edition?

The points of issue

• William Heinemann, London, 1919, 8vo (about 255 x 161 mm), "South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition, 1914-1917." The first impression is identified by collation plus an errata slip: 2 pp., xxii, 376 pp., with an errata slip tipped in at p
• The second and third impressions collate essentially the same but have no errata slip, the errors having been corrected in the text; auction houses routinely catalogue copies as "the printed pricet edition, 2nd impression, 1919," so the same title-page year covers all three
• Illustration complement is a colour frontispiece plus roughly 87-88 half-tone photographic plates (Hurley), including a double-page panorama, and a folding colour map of the Voyage of the Endurance at the rear; the folding map is frequently missing or torn
• Binding is publisher's dark blue cloth, the front board blocked in silver with a large vignette of the Endurance and the spine lettered in silver
• The first impression was printed on inferior paper at the end of the Great War and is invariably browned, the silver blocking oxidises, and the joints are prone to splitting with normal use, so a bright, unbrowned, unsplit copy should raise the suspicion of a later impression rather than confirm a first

How William Heinemann marked a first edition

• 1890-1921: year of publication printed on the TITLE PAGE of first editions; on later printings the title-page date was removed and a notice added to the copyright page (a title-page year is the first-printing tell for th…
• First printing = statement present AND no list of subsequent impressions

Full William Heinemann 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. 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 true first: Heinemann, London, 1919, and this is the edition to collect. The first American edition is Macmillan, New York, stating "Published January, 1920" on the copyright page; it follows the London issue by roughly a year and has no claim to precedence. No limited, signed or large-paper edition was issued: the book was produced under immediate post-war constraints and there is no elaborate limited state, so any "limited edition" South should be treated as a later production.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 1919 Heinemann or the 1920 Macmillan issue in the sources consulted. The practical trap is not a club but the later 1919 Heinemann impressions: same year on the title page, same dark blue cloth, same silver Endurance vignette, told apart only by the absent errata slip and by paper that has not browned. Modern reprints (Century, Robinson, Signet, Konecky, Penguin, and Heinemann facsimile printings) are abundant and are not firsts.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition a first edition?

A first edition of South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition by Sir Ernest Shackleton (William Heinemann) is identified by: William Heinemann, London, 1919, 8vo (about 255 x 161 mm), "South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition, 1914-1917." The first impression is identified by collation plus an errata slip: 2 pp., xxii, 376 pp., with an errata slip tipped in at p.

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. UK true first: Heinemann, London, 1919, and this is the edition to collect.

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

No book-club issue is documented for the 1919 Heinemann or the 1920 Macmillan issue in the sources consulted. The practical trap is not a club but the later 1919 Heinemann impressions: same year on the title page, same dark blue cloth, same silver Endurance vignette, told apart only by the absent errata slip and by paper that has not browned. Modern reprints (Century, Robinson, Signet, Konecky, Penguin, and Heinemann facsimile printings) are abundant and are not firsts.

I have a first edition of South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition — 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.