The points of issue
Won the 1951 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the National Book Award. First American printing: Macmillan, 1951, in dust jacket; introduction by T. S. Eliot. The Bollingen Prize was awarded to Moore in 1953 as a career honor, not specifically for this book.
Is this the true first?
Publication is genuinely tangled: the sheets of the first American edition were printed in England and shipped over. The Faber (London) edition was published September 14, 1951, ahead of the American-printed Macmillan copies issued December 17, 1951. Catalogue both honestly rather than asserting a single clean true first.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club. The Faber London issue is distinguished by its imprint.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of The Collected Poems of Marianne Moore a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: Won the 1951 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the National Book Award. First American printing: Macmillan, 1951, in dust jacket; introduction by T. S. Eliot. The Bollingen Prize was awarded to Moore in 1953 as a career honor, not specifically for this book.
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. Publication is genuinely tangled: the sheets of the first American edition were printed in England and shipped over. The Faber (London) edition was published September 14, 1951, ahead of the American-printed Macmillan copies issued December 17, 1951. Catalogue both honestly rather than asserting a s
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
No book club. The Faber London issue is distinguished by its imprint.
I have a first edition of The Collected Poems of Marianne Moore — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.