Is My The Children's Hour a First Edition?

The points of issue

• 'First edition' is stated on the copyright page — this is unusually well attested for a play of this date: the Library of Congress catalog record for the book (LCCN 34042816) quotes the statement directly as a note, and the ABAA trade independently describes copies as 'First Edition, stated'
• Collation per the Library of Congress: 5 preliminary leaves, pp
• 3-115, [1], 20 cm; dealers describe it as octavo, 115 pp
• Binding: tan boards stamped in maroon, with a blue spine panel lettered in white, and a brown topstain — all three elements together
• Jacket: printed and priced at the flap; jacketed copies are described in the trade as scarce, and the jacket is the element most often absent or supplied
• Hellman's first play and her first book, so there is no earlier Hellman book to confuse it with

How Alfred A. Knopf, New York marked a first edition

• c.1933/1934 onward (stated 'First Edition' era — the core rule): Knopf began consistently printing 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page of first printings, or 'FIRST AMERICAN EDITION' when the book had already appeared…

Full Alfred A. Knopf, 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. 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 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 only-first; the census claim is correct as to publisher, city and year. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1934 is the true first. The UK edition is Hamish Hamilton, London, 1937 (127 pp.) — three years later, so no UK-precedence question arises and the London edition should never be described as a first. Only the Knopf 1934 is collected as the first edition of the work; the Hamish Hamilton is a first English edition and nothing more.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club printing is documented for the Knopf 1934. The practical tell is the copyright-page statement itself: a copy lacking the quoted 'First edition.' note is a later Knopf printing, and no binding or jacket variant substitutes for that check. The recurring misidentifications are the 1937 Hamish Hamilton (London) edition and the later collected and acting-edition reprints, all of which carry their own imprints and dates on the title page — read the imprint before the binding.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Children's Hour a first edition?

A first edition of The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman (Alfred A. Knopf, New York) is identified by: 'First edition' is stated on the copyright page — this is unusually well attested for a play of this date: the Library of Congress catalog record for the book (LCCN 34042816) quotes the statement directly as a note, and the ABAA trade independently describes copies as 'First Edition, stated'.

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). US only-first; the census claim is correct as to publisher, city and year.

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

No book-club printing is documented for the Knopf 1934. The practical tell is the copyright-page statement itself: a copy lacking the quoted 'First edition.' note is a later Knopf printing, and no binding or jacket variant substitutes for that check. The recurring misidentifications are the 1937 Hamish Hamilton (London) edition and the later collected and acting-edition reprints, all of which carry their own imprints and dates on the title page — read the imprint before the binding.

I have a first edition of The Children's Hour — 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.