# Is "The American Language" by H. L. Mencken a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The American Language by H. L. Mencken (Alfred A. Knopf, 1919) is identified by: Knopf, New York, 1919 (full title 'The American Language: A Preliminary Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States'), limited to 1,500 numbered copies. US first (Knopf, New York, 1919) is the true first; there is no UK or original-language precedence.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1919 (full title 'The American Language: A Preliminary Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States'), limited to 1,500 numbered copies
- Each copy carries the limitation statement 'Of the first edition of this book fifteen hundred copies have been printed and the type distributed
- This is number ___,' which is the decisive first-printing point; copyright reads 'Copyright, 1919, by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.' Octavo, x, 374 pp, in publisher's blue cloth lettered on the spine with the top edge stained blue (a binding variant in black cloth with green spine lettering is also recorded)
- Corroborated by two independent dealer descriptions (The First Edition Rare Books
- Downtown Brown Books)
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | H. L. Mencken |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 1919 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1919 (full title 'The American Language: A Preliminary Inquiry into the Development of English in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
True first: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1919 (full title 'The American Language: A Preliminary Inquiry into the Development of English in the United States'), limited to 1,500 numbered copies. Each copy carries the limitation statement 'Of the first edition of this book fifteen hundred copies have been printed and the type distributed. This is number ___,' which is the decisive first-printing point; copyright reads 'Copyright, 1919, by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.' Octavo, x, 374 pp, in publisher's blue cloth lettered on the spine with the top edge stained blue (a binding variant in black cloth with green spine lettering is also recorded). Corroborated by two independent dealer descriptions (The First Edition Rare Books; Downtown Brown Books).

## Is this the true first?
US first (Knopf, New York, 1919) is the true first; there is no UK or original-language precedence. 'First thus' trap: the work was substantially rewritten across the 2nd (1921), 3rd (1923), and completely reset and enlarged 4th edition (Knopf, 1936), plus its two Supplements (1945, 1948) — those are the standard reading texts and are frequently mislabeled 'first edition.' Only the 1919 numbered limited issue is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No first-year book-club issue; later trade editions are common and are not the 1919 limited printing. Absence of the numbered limitation leaf rules out the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The American Language* by H. L. Mencken a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-american-language
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.