Is My The Crack-Up a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first edition, first issue is identified by the two-colour title page: lines 3-12 and the publisher's device are printed in red-brown (described by some dealers as brick red), with the remainder in black
• The later issue of the same first edition has the title page printed in black only, and is the trap most often offered as a plain 'first edition' — the colour of the title page, not the copyright page, does the work here
• Matthew J. Bruccoli's Fitzgerald bibliography is the standard authority cited by dealers for this point
• The first issue is reported bound in half buckram with a paper label over patterned boards; later-issue copies are commonly found in plain cloth
• Jacket should be present and priced (price at the flap)

How New Directions, New York marked a first edition

• Modern paperbacks carry a descending number line; lowest digit (1) present indicates first printing.

Full New Directions, 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. 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.
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 precedence: New Directions, New York, 1945, edited by Edmund Wilson, is the true first and the sole edition collected as such — the census claim is correct. No British edition preceded or competed with it; UK hardcover publication followed more than a decade later (The Bodley Head, reported 1958), and that later British issue is a reprint, not a co-first. The 'first thus' traps are the New Directions paperbook (NDP54) and modern annotated reissues.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for this title in the sources consulted. The material reprint tell is the black-only title page marking the later issue of the first edition; New Directions kept the book in print, so later printings and the paperbook are common and are not firsts.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Crack-Up a first edition?

A first edition of The Crack-Up by F. Scott Fitzgerald (New Directions, New York) is identified by: The first edition, first issue is identified by the two-colour title page: lines 3-12 and the publisher's device are printed in red-brown (described by some dealers as brick red), with the remainder in black.

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-only precedence: New Directions, New York, 1945, edited by Edmund Wilson, is the true first and the sole edition collected as such — the census claim is correct.

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

No book-club issue is documented for this title in the sources consulted. The material reprint tell is the black-only title page marking the later issue of the first edition; New Directions kept the book in print, so later printings and the paperbook are common and are not firsts.

I have a first edition of The Crack-Up — 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.