Is My The Clouds a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Limited fine-press edition of 310 numbered copies, jointly produced by the Wells College Press (Aurora, NY) and the Cummington Press (Cummington, MA)
• Of the 310, sixty Roman-numeraled copies were printed on handmade paper and signed by Williams; the remaining copies were on all-rag paper and unsigned
• Gray cloth with a printed paper spine label; issued in a publisher's slipcase
• The full title as printed reads 'The Clouds, Aigeltinger, Russia, &c.'

How The Wells College Press / The Cummington Press marked a first edition

• 1941-1956 (Cummington, MA): fine hand-letterpress books in small editions, typically a few hundred copies. Identification = the COLOPHON/LIMITATION statement giving copy count, types, paper, and printers (e.g. 'one of 30…

Full The Wells College Press / The Cummington Press first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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 fine-press first (Wells College Press / Cummington Press), 1948. Scarce limited edition; the sixty signed handmade-paper copies are the premium state.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book club edition.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Clouds a first edition?

A first edition of The Clouds by William Carlos Williams (The Wells College Press / The Cummington Press) is identified by: Limited fine-press edition of 310 numbered copies, jointly produced by the Wells College Press (Aurora, NY) and the Cummington Press (Cummington, MA).

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 fine-press first (Wells College Press / Cummington Press), 1948.

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

No book club edition.

I have a first edition of The Clouds — what should I do?

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 lost. To sell, see the author’s collecting guide. Either way, nothing collectible ends up in a landfill.

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.