Is My The Abolition of Man a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First UK edition, Oxford University Press 1943, originating as the fifteenth series of Riddell Memorial Lectures delivered at King's College, Newcastle (Durham University) on 24-26 February 1943
• Issued not in cloth but in original publisher's printed wrappers: the grey-green wrappers printed in black and bearing the Durham University crest and date on the front are the recognised first-issue form (a plainer orange-brown wrapper variant is also recorded)
• A slim octavo of roughly 52 pages; no later-impression statement present

How Oxford University Press marked a first edition

• Until the late 1980s OUP made NO affirmative first-edition statement; first printings carried only the copyright/publication line, while LATER printings were noted ('Reprinted 19xx,' 'Second impression') on the copyright…
• From the late 1980s OUP adopted a number row/line on the copyright page; the lowest number present indicates the printing ('1' = first).

Full Oxford University Press first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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 Oxford University Press wrappered issue of 1943 is the true first; the US Macmillan hardcover edition follows in 1947.P-003924

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later printings and the 1947 US Macmillan edition differ in binding and imprint; the American issue is a cloth hardcover, not the original wrappers.P-003925

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Abolition of Man a first edition?

A first edition of The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis (Oxford University Press) is identified by: First UK edition, Oxford University Press 1943, originating as the fifteenth series of Riddell Memorial Lectures delivered at King's College, Newcastle (Durham University) on 24-26 February 1943.

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 Oxford University Press wrappered issue of 1943 is the true first; the US Macmillan hardcover edition follows in 1947.

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

Later printings and the 1947 US Macmillan edition differ in binding and imprint; the American issue is a cloth hardcover, not the original wrappers.

I have a first edition of The Abolition of Man — 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.