Is My Spoon River Anthology a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Title page reads "Spoon River Anthology | By Edgar Lee Masters | New York | The Macmillan Company | 1915." The first printing's copyright page reads "Copyright, 1914 and 1915, By William Marion Reedy" (the poems had run serially in Reedy's Mirror), then "Copyright, 1915, By The Macmillan Company," then "Set up and electrotyped
• Published April, 1915." — and stops there
• That terminal line is the test: Macmillan's US house did not begin stating "First printing" on the copyright page until mid-1936, so the first printing is identified by the absence of any reprint line, while the next printing adds "Reprinted May, 1915." (the widely circulated digitized Macmillan copy carries that added line and is therefore a May reprint, not the first)
• Collation is octavo, xvii, 248 pp., with publisher's advertisements at the rear; the binding is green to bluish-green cloth, lettered in gilt with black rule and detailing to spine and front cover
• Dealers additionally cite a textblock measurement point — roughly the printed price inch across the top on the first issue against roughly 1 inch on the later issue — but that is a dealer-reported secondary check and the copyright-page line should govern

How The Macmillan Company, New York marked a first edition

• FIRM SPLIT FIRST — this is the master rule. 'Macmillan' is not one publisher. The London parent was founded in 1843 by Daniel and Alexander Macmillan; George Edward Brett opened the New York office in 1869; in 1896 the f…
• Macmillan of Canada (Toronto, 1905–2002): the standard reference verdict is that this firm DOES NOT DESIGNATE first editions and provides no marks distinguishing printings. Do not assume a Canadian Macmillan first becaus…

Full The Macmillan Company, New York 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 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?

American origin: The Macmillan Company, New York, April 1915 is the true first in book form. The prior serial publication in Reedy's Mirror (St. Louis, 1914–15) under the pseudonym "Webster Ford" is a periodical appearance, not an edition, and survives on the first printing's copyright page as the Reedy copyright line. A London issue from T. Werner Laurie, made up from American sheets, is recorded and is subordinate to the Macmillan first, so there is no UK precedence. The dominant trap is Macmillan's own expanded "New Edition with New Poems" of 1916, which adds roughly three dozen poems (sources differ on the exact count, reported variously as 33, 35 and 36) and is regularly catalogued and offered as a first — it is a first thus only.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No 1915 book-club issue is documented. The printing tells are all on the copyright page: any "Reprinted [month], 1915" or later line appearing beneath "Set up and electrotyped. Published April, 1915." marks a reprint, and the 1916 "New Edition with New Poems" is a separate, expanded setting with its own copyright page and a larger poem count. Modern Dover Thrift, Signet and print-on-demand reprints carry ISBNs and are not editions of the 1915 book.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Spoon River Anthology a first edition?

A first edition of Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters (The Macmillan Company, New York) is identified by: Title page reads "Spoon River Anthology | By Edgar Lee Masters | New York | The Macmillan Company | 1915." The first printing's copyright page reads "Copyright, 1914 and 1915, By William Marion Reedy" (the poems had run serially in Reedy's Mirror), then "Copyright, 1915, By The Macmillan Company," then "Set up and electrotyped.

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. American origin: The Macmillan Company, New York, April 1915 is the true first in book form.

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

No 1915 book-club issue is documented. The printing tells are all on the copyright page: any "Reprinted [month], 1915" or later line appearing beneath "Set up and electrotyped. Published April, 1915." marks a reprint, and the 1916 "New Edition with New Poems" is a separate, expanded setting with its own copyright page and a larger poem count. Modern Dover Thrift, Signet and print-on-demand reprints carry ISBNs and are not editions of the 1915 book.

I have a first edition of Spoon River Anthology — 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.