Is My The Castaway and Other Poems a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, Jonathan Cape, London, 1965
• Octavo, 62 pp., thirty-three poems
• Walcott's third book published in the UK. Bound in cloth-backed patterned paper boards, in dust jacket; the jacket should carry the price at the flap (priced jacket)
• Beyond the 1965 Cape imprint and the cloth-backed patterned-board binding, no separately documented first-issue textual point, state or number line is recorded in the sources consulted — identification rests on imprint, date and binding, and a copyright page should be examined rather than assumed

How Jonathan Cape, London marked a first edition

• First printings state "First published [Year]" or "First published in Great Britain [Year]" on the copyright page with NO additional impression lines and traditionally NO number line
• Later printings noted by added lines (e.g. 'Second impression [year]', 'Reprinted...') — their presence disqualifies a first

Full Jonathan Cape, London 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?

UK only: Jonathan Cape, London, 1965 is the true and only separate first edition. There is no separate American edition of The Castaway. In the US, a selection from the collection appeared inside The Gulf (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 1970), which combines the whole of the UK collection The Gulf and Other Poems (Cape, 1969) with poems drawn from The Castaway. The FSG volume is therefore the first American appearance of some of these poems, but it is not an edition of The Castaway and carries no priority over the 1965 Cape printing. This confirms the census note.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue documented. Cape reissued the collection in a different format in 1969 and reprinted it in 1972 and 1978; the 1969 Cape paperback circulates and is a later 'first thus', not the first edition. The other common trap is FSG's The Gulf (1970), offered where Castaway poems are sought.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Castaway and Other Poems a first edition?

A first edition of The Castaway and Other Poems by Derek Walcott (Jonathan Cape, London) is identified by: First edition, Jonathan Cape, London, 1965.

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). UK only: Jonathan Cape, London, 1965 is the true and only separate first edition.

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

No book-club issue documented. Cape reissued the collection in a different format in 1969 and reprinted it in 1972 and 1978; the 1969 Cape paperback circulates and is a later 'first thus', not the first edition. The other common trap is FSG's The Gulf (1970), offered where Castaway poems are sought.

I have a first edition of The Castaway and Other Poems — 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.