Is My Copy of Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing of the revised text; copyright page carries Library of Congress card number 66-23330 and no later-printing statement
• Black cloth with blind-stamped 'VN' oval on the front cover, gilt spine lettering, and endpapers reproducing Nabokov's butterfly drawing and a map of the family lands
• First-issue jacket carries the printed price

How G.P. Putnam's Sons marked a first edition

• US, 1960–mid-1980s: first editions remain UNSTATED. Every printing after the first carries the words 'Second impression' (or 'Third impression,' etc.) on the copyright page; a copyright page with no 'impression'…

Full G.P. Putnam's Sons 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 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?

This is 'first thus' for the revised and expanded definitive text. The earliest form of the autobiography appeared in 1951, published in the US by Harper as 'Conclusive Evidence' and in the UK by Victor Gollancz as 'Speak, Memory.' The 1966 Putnam revision precedes the UK Weidenfeld & Nicolson edition.P-032261

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club copies are blind-stamped and carry no price on the jacket.P-032262

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited a first edition?

A first edition of Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited by Vladimir Nabokov (G.P. Putnam's Sons) is identified by: First printing of the revised text; copyright page carries Library of Congress card number 66-23330 and no later-printing statement.

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. This is 'first thus' for the revised and expanded definitive text.

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

Book-club copies are blind-stamped and carry no price on the jacket.

I have a first edition of Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited — 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.