Is My Still Life a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Chatto & Windus (London) 1985 is the true first, the second volume of the Frederica quartet after The Virgin in the Garden
• The first printing states 'First published 1985' by Chatto & Windus on the verso with no later-impression line; it is bound in black boards with gilt spine lettering, collating 358pp, in the publisher's dust wrapper with the price present at the flap (marked UK-only)
• No number line is used

How Chatto & Windus marked a first edition

• The sometimes-present statement is 'Published by Chatto & Windus' WITHOUT a date, plus the printer's imprint (often R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh, in the early-mid 20th c.). Treat the claimed 'First published in Great Britain…

Full Chatto & Windus 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 Chatto & Windus (London) 1985 precedes the US Charles Scribner's Sons (New York) 1985 edition, which is the first American edition; both are collected, the Chatto issue being the true first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

US Scribner's 1985 is the American first; later printings add an impression statement or number line beneath the 'First published 1985' line.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Still Life a first edition?

A first edition of Still Life by A.S. Byatt (Chatto & Windus) is identified by: Chatto & Windus (London) 1985 is the true first, the second volume of the Frederica quartet after The Virgin in the Garden (1978).

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 Chatto & Windus (London) 1985 precedes the US Charles Scribner's Sons (New York) 1985 edition, which is the first American edition; both are collected, the Chatto issue being the true first.

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

US Scribner's 1985 is the American first; later printings add an impression statement or number line beneath the 'First published 1985' line.

I have a first edition of Still Life — 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.