Is My Tales of St. Austin's a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing, first issue; school stories collection
• Published 10 November 1903 with twelve plates by Whitwell, Pocock, and Skinner
• First-issue point: the quotation marks on the title page are left unclosed after the listed earlier titles (corrected in later issues)

How Adam & Charles Black marked a first edition

• No 'First Edition' statement and no printer's number line: like nearly all British houses of its era, Adam & Charles Black did not print a 'First Edition' notice or a number line in its collectible literary firsts (the e…
• Rely on the title-page year and a clean copyright verso: a first printing carries the year of publication on the title page (e.g. 1903 for 'A Prefect's Uncle', 1909 for 'Mike') with no later date and no printing/reprint…

Full Adam & Charles Black 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 A & C Black is the true first (10 November 1903); the US Macmillan edition followed (New York, December 1903, from imported sheets).P-023755

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue.P-023756

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Tales of St. Austin's a first edition?

A first edition of Tales of St. Austin's by P.G. Wodehouse (Adam & Charles Black) is identified by: First printing, first issue; school stories collection.

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 A & C Black is the true first (10 November 1903); the US Macmillan edition followed (New York, December 1903, from imported sheets).

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

No book-club issue.

I have a first edition of Tales of St. Austin's — 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.