Is My The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page AND carries the Harper letter code "B-H" — B = February, H = 1958 in Harper's month/year code table — so both the statement and the code must be present
• Binding is quarter black cloth with the spine lettered in gilt over off-white paper-covered boards stamped in gold
• The first-issue jacket is the sharper point: the rear-flap biography states the author has "two small children", corrected to "four" in the second-issue jacket (Roberts A1a); price present at the front flap
• Structural note for grading, not identification: this slim verse volume has a notoriously weak binding and the text block frequently leans or cocks forward

How Harper & Brothers, New York marked a first edition

• From 1922: also began printing 'First Edition' on the copyright page in addition to the code.
• Letter code discontinued after 1949; later Harper & Row used standard statements/number lines.

Full Harper & Brothers, New York 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. 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 US 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?

US Harper & Brothers, New York, 1958 is the true first and Updike's first book — his only trade book not published by Knopf. The UK edition is a title-change trap: it appeared as "Hoping for a Hoopoe" (Victor Gollancz, London, 1959) and adds an Author's Note not present in the US edition. The Gollancz book is separately collected as the first English edition but does not precede the Harper issue; a copy catalogued under either title is describing the same work.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for this title in the sources consulted — an unlikely candidate, being a slim collection of light verse. The live traps are the 1959 Gollancz retitling and later Harper printings, which drop the "First Edition" statement and the B-H code.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures a first edition?

A first edition of The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures by John Updike (Harper & Brothers, New York) is identified by: The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page AND carries the Harper letter code "B-H" — B = February, H = 1958 in Harper's month/year code table — so both the statement and the code must be present.

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. US Harper & Brothers, New York, 1958 is the true first and Updike's first book — his only trade book not published by Knopf.

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

No book-club issue is documented for this title in the sources consulted — an unlikely candidate, being a slim collection of light verse. The live traps are the 1959 Gollancz retitling and later Harper printings, which drop the "First Edition" statement and the B-H code.

I have a first edition of The Carpentered Hen and Other Tame Creatures — 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.