Is My The Bridge on the Drina (Na Drini ćuprija) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the Serbo-Croatian (Serbian, ekavian, Cyrillic) Na Drini ćuprija: roman, published in Belgrade in March 1945 by the newly founded state house Prosveta as the inaugural title in its series Južnoslovenski pisci (South Slavic Writers) — its status as Prosveta's very first book is itself a defining identification point
• The first printing ran roughly 5,000 copies and sold out by the end of that year; genuine first-issue copies carry the 1945 imprint and the Prosveta / Južnoslovenski pisci series designation on the title page and are wartime-quality austerity productions on poor paper
• Because a total of five Yugoslav editions appeared within about four years of 1945, the surest tells are the 1945 title-page date and the series-first imprint rather than any later reset text; the exact binding state (wrappers vs. cloth) of the earliest copies is not uniformly documented, so verify the title-page year and series line directly

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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?

The collectible true first is the 1945 Serbo-Croatian original: Na Drini ćuprija, Prosveta, Belgrade, March 1945 (written by Andrić in German-occupied Belgrade between July 1942 and December 1943). The first English translation, by Lovett F. Edwards, appeared in 1959: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. (London) published the first UK / first English-language edition (forest-green cloth, orange spine lettering), and The Macmillan Company (New York) issued the first American edition the same year. Dealers consistently treat the London Allen & Unwin printing as preceding the Macmillan release, but same-year US/UK precedence is not documented to the month, so confirm the imprint before asserting priority. Both English editions appeared two years before Andrić's 1961 Nobel Prize.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No notable book-club edition drives confusion for the 1945 Serbo-Croatian first; the real traps are (1) mistaking one of the four later Yugoslav editions issued within ~four years of 1945 for the true first — check the title-page year, not just the Prosveta name; and (2) among English copies, later and much cheaper reissues, especially the University of Chicago Press paperback (Phoenix Fiction, William H. McNeill introduction) and modern Penguin/Vintage printings, which are frequently listed loosely as "first" but are not. For English first-edition purposes only the 1959 Allen & Unwin (UK) or 1959 Macmillan (US) printings qualify.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Bridge on the Drina (Na Drini ćuprija) a first edition?

A first edition of The Bridge on the Drina (Na Drini ćuprija) by Ivo Andrić (Prosveta) is identified by: The true first is the Serbo-Croatian (Serbian, ekavian, Cyrillic) Na Drini ćuprija: roman, published in Belgrade in March 1945 by the newly founded state house Prosveta as the inaugural title in its series Južnoslovenski pisci (South Slavic Writers) — its status as Prosveta's very first book is itself a defining identification point.

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. The collectible true first is the 1945 Serbo-Croatian original: Na Drini ćuprija, Prosveta, Belgrade, March 1945 (written by Andrić in German-occupied Belgrade between July 1942 and December 1943).

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

No notable book-club edition drives confusion for the 1945 Serbo-Croatian first; the real traps are (1) mistaking one of the four later Yugoslav editions issued within ~four years of 1945 for the true first — check the title-page year, not just the Prosveta name; and (2) among English copies, later and much cheaper reissues, especially the University of Chicago Press paperback (Phoenix Fiction, William H. McNeill introduction) and modern Penguin/Vintage printings, which are frequently listed loo

I have a first edition of The Bridge on the Drina (Na Drini ćuprija) — 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.