Is My The Delicate Prey and Other Stories a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first of this collection is Random House (New York), 1950; first edition, first printing so stated on the copyright page
• Bound in brown cloth with a spider-web decoration, top edges stained dark gray; the pictorial dust jacket was designed by E. McKnight Kauffer and is priced at the flap
• Octavo, collecting 17 stories
• Bowles's second book, dedicated to his mother

How Random House marked a first edition

• Stated-edition era (c.1936–1975): trade first printings are plainly marked with the words 'First Edition' (or, on some earlier titles, 'First Printing') on the copyright page, with NO number line yet in use; a copyright…
• Divisional practice — share the STATEMENT, not the '2'-line: sister divisions state 'First Edition' as their firsts (Alfred A. Knopf consistently since 1933–34; Pantheon since 1964), so the words work across the family.…

Full Random House 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 UK 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?

For this exact title/collection, Random House (November 1950) is the true first. The UK volume A Little Stone (John Lehmann, London, August 1950) appeared about three months earlier but is a DIFFERENT, differently-titled collection of twelve stories that deliberately omits 'The Delicate Prey' and 'Pages from Cold Point' (on Cyril Connolly's and Somerset Maugham's advice over censorship/distribution) — it is not a UK edition of this book, so contents differ by country and both are collected as separate titles.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented in sources consulted; later Random House printings add impression statements and lack the copyright-page first-printing point.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Delicate Prey and Other Stories a first edition?

A first edition of The Delicate Prey and Other Stories by Paul Bowles (Random House) is identified by: True first of this collection is Random House (New York), 1950; first edition, first printing so stated on the copyright page.

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. For this exact title/collection, Random House (November 1950) is the true first.

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

No book-club edition documented in sources consulted; later Random House printings add impression statements and lack the copyright-page first-printing point.

I have a first edition of The Delicate Prey and Other Stories — 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.