Is My The Death of Grass a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first impression: London, Michael Joseph, 1956, octavo, 230 pp., in the publisher's black boards/cloth lettered in white at the spine
• Dustwrapper design is by Trevor Denning, with a predominantly white rear panel and the publisher's price present at the front flap
• Per Michael Joseph's house convention, first impressions state "First published" with the year on the copyright page and list no further impressions; an added impression statement rules out the first, and there is no number line
• The author is Samuel Youd writing as John Christopher, and this is his second novel under that pseudonym; the title is cited in Pringle, Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels (no

How Michael Joseph marked a first edition

• First printing = statement present AND no subsequent-impression lines

Full Michael Joseph 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?

Census claim CONFIRMED as to precedence, but the US year is NOT settled and the census's "1957" should not be stated as fact. Michael Joseph, London, 1956 is the true first — dealers describing the American issue agree the British edition came first under the original title. The first American edition is No Blade of Grass, Simon and Schuster, New York, in yellow and green cloth-backed boards; sources conflict on its year. Mostly Dystopian Books catalogues it as "First American edition, 1956," while the Open Library/Library of Congress record gives Simon and Schuster, New York, 1957 with LCCN 57005674 and the note "First published in London in 1956 under title: The death of grass." That conflict is unresolved on the present evidence, so the US edition is given here as "Simon and Schuster, New York, 1956 or 1957 (disputed)." The retitling is the alternate-title trap; the novel was also serialised in the US in The Saturday Evening Post as No Blade of Grass, and the 1970 film of that title drives tie-in first-thus reissues.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 1956 Michael Joseph printing in the sources consulted. The reprint tell for the UK edition is an added impression statement on the copyright page while the Trevor Denning jacket design is retained.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Death of Grass a first edition?

A first edition of The Death of Grass by John Christopher (Michael Joseph) is identified by: First edition, first impression: London, Michael Joseph, 1956, octavo, 230 pp., in the publisher's black boards/cloth lettered in white at the spine.

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). Census claim CONFIRMED as to precedence, but the US year is NOT settled and the census's "1957" should not be stated as fact.

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

No book-club issue is documented for the 1956 Michael Joseph printing in the sources consulted. The reprint tell for the UK edition is an added impression statement on the copyright page while the Trevor Denning jacket design is retained.

I have a first edition of The Death of Grass — 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.