Is My The Black Prince a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, Chatto & Windus, London, 1973; xviii, 364 pp.; ISBN 0 7011 1924 1 (OCLC 641302
• LCCN 73-160017)
• Bound in purple cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, in the dust jacket designed by Christopher Cornford — the Cornford jacket is the single most useful check on a UK copy, and multiple independent dealers describe the pairing of purple cloth with the Cornford jacket consistently
• British trade practice of the period means there is no number line: the first printing carries the 1973 Chatto & Windus imprint with the date and no later-impression statement on the verso of the title leaf, and a copy showing a second- or later-impression line is not the first
• An uncorrected proof precedes the published book, in plain unprinted wrappers, one recorded copy stamped 2 October 1972 — proofs are a separate collecting object and are not the first edition
• Jackets should be checked for clipping; a priced jacket with the price present at the flap is the wanted state

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?

The Chatto & Windus London edition of 1973 precedes the New York issue and is the true first; the census claim is confirmed. UK publication was in February 1973, ahead of the Viking Press (New York) first American edition of the same year — xviii, 366 pp., ISBN 0 670 17286 3, LCCN 72-091828 — which is bound in yellow and orange boards with purple floral decoration in a pictorial jacket and is a different setting from the Chatto. Both editions are collected and the two are easily told apart by pagination, binding and jacket; the London Chatto is the senior. Some US dealers loosely style the Viking simply "the printed pricet edition" — read that as first American edition. The novel took the 1973 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the 1973 Booker.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition of the 1973 Chatto issue was documented in this pass. The reprint tells that matter are format tells: the Penguin paperback (1975 and later) and the Vintage / Chatto later settings are reprints, and any copy carrying a later ISBN or a post-1973 date is not the first. Because the Viking (New York) sheets are a separate American setting, a Viking copy is never the true first however it is described. Later Chatto impressions are distinguished only by the impression statement on the title-leaf verso, since cloth and jacket art were carried over unchanged.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Black Prince a first edition?

A first edition of The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch (Chatto & Windus) is identified by: First edition, Chatto & Windus, London, 1973; xviii, 364 pp.; ISBN 0 7011 1924 1 (OCLC 641302; LCCN 73-160017).

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). The Chatto & Windus London edition of 1973 precedes the New York issue and is the true first; the census claim is confirmed.

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

No book-club edition of the 1973 Chatto issue was documented in this pass. The reprint tells that matter are format tells: the Penguin paperback (1975 and later) and the Vintage / Chatto later settings are reprints, and any copy carrying a later ISBN or a post-1973 date is not the first. Because the Viking (New York) sheets are a separate American setting, a Viking copy is never the true first however it is described. Later Chatto impressions are distinguished only by the impression statement on

I have a first edition of The Black Prince — 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.