Is My The Art of the Novel a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First American edition, Grove Press, New York, 1988 (hardcover); translated from the French by Linda Asher, running to 165 pages
• The first printing is identified by a full number line on the copyright page and is bound in red cloth over gray boards, the spine stamped in silver
• The first-state dust jacket carries the printed cover price on the front flap, which should be present and unclipped on an unrestored copy

How Grove Press marked a first edition

• First editions and later printings are noted on the copyright page; the modern practice uses a number row/printer's key, with the presence of '1' (or the lowest digit) indicating a first printing.
• Grove added a number row around 1969 (initially on the last page before the rear free endpaper, later on the copyright page) but often failed to remove a 'First Edition' statement from reprints — so a 'First Edition' lin…

Full Grove 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. 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. 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?

First English-language edition of the essay collection L'art du roman (Gallimard, 1986). A Harper & Row Perennial paperback (Grove-licensed Perennial trade paper) also appeared in 1988; the Grove Press hardcover is the true first English-language edition.P-021948

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented; confirm the first printing by the full number line on the copyright page. Later Grove and Harper Perennial issues drop the complete number line.P-021949

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Art of the Novel a first edition?

A first edition of The Art of the Novel by Milan Kundera (Grove Press) is identified by: First American edition, Grove Press, New York, 1988 (hardcover); translated from the French by Linda Asher, running to 165 pages.

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). First English-language edition of the essay collection L'art du roman (Gallimard, 1986).

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

No book-club edition documented; confirm the first printing by the full number line on the copyright page. Later Grove and Harper Perennial issues drop the complete number line.

I have a first edition of The Art of the Novel — 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.