Is My The Colossus of Maroussi a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first was issued by The Colt Press, San Francisco, 1941, in two simultaneous states catalogued in Shifreen & Jackson: A26(a), the signed limited issue of 100 copies, and A26(b), the trade issue
• Octavo, [8],244pp
• The LIMITED issue (A26a) is bound in decorated/floral paper-covered boards over a cloth spine with a printed paper spine label, is signed by Miller on the third blank leaf, has the side-edges of the text block untrimmed, and carries the higher (limited) price printed at the rear cover
• The TRADE issue (A26b) is bound in publisher's blue cloth with a printed paper spine label, is unsigned, has fully trimmed edges, the lower trade price at the rear cover, and was issued in a pictorial (blue-and-white striped) dust jacket
• One ABAA dealer's side-by-side comparison text is ambiguously worded on which binding belongs to which issue, but the weight of independent listings and the S&J numbers place floral boards on the limited and blue cloth on the trade

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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 Colt Press 1941 precedes the first UK/English edition, William Heinemann via Secker & Warburg, London, 1942 (234,[2]pp, blue cloth). Both the A26a limited and A26b trade are 1941 Colt Press firsts from the same setting; the signed limited of 100 is the more desirable primary issue. The US edition is the collected true first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No contemporaneous US book club for this small fine-press title; later reprints and the New Directions issues are clearly later and not confusable with the Colt Press sheets. A facsimile dust jacket is sometimes supplied to jacketless copies and should be disclosed as such.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Colossus of Maroussi a first edition?

A first edition of The Colossus of Maroussi by Henry Miller (The Colt Press) is identified by: The true first was issued by The Colt Press, San Francisco, 1941, in two simultaneous states catalogued in Shifreen & Jackson: A26(a), the signed limited issue of 100 copies, and A26(b), the trade issue.

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 Colt Press 1941 precedes the first UK/English edition, William Heinemann via Secker & Warburg, London, 1942 (234,[2]pp, blue cloth).

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

No contemporaneous US book club for this small fine-press title; later reprints and the New Directions issues are clearly later and not confusable with the Colt Press sheets. A facsimile dust jacket is sometimes supplied to jacketless copies and should be disclosed as such.

I have a first edition of The Colossus of Maroussi — 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.