Is My The Garden Party and Other Stories a First Edition?

The points of issue

• London: Constable, 1922 — Kirkpatrick A5a, with 'First published 1922' on the verso and no later-printing statement
• The textual point is the uncorrected misprint 'sposition' for 'position' in the last line of p.103, cited in the Christie's cataloguing; dealers also report errors at pp.134 and 241
• Binding state is the more important discrimination: the issued trade binding, as normally found, is blue cloth with the lettering stamped in ochre/orange
• Kirkpatrick records approximately 25 copies in a rejected publisher's trial binding of greenish-blue cloth stamped in navy blue — the navy stamping did not show well enough, so the lettering on the issued binding was changed to ochre
• The trial binding, not the ochre-lettered cloth, is the earlier state; most trial copies went out to travellers or were shipped to Australia, and Michael Sadleir of Constable reportedly told collector Paul Rassam that only eleven or twelve such binder's samples were supplied

How Constable marked a first edition

• Late 1890s to about 1920 (the modern London Archibald Constable & Co.): firsts typically carry the date on the title page with no later-printing notice; subsequent printings remove the title-page date or add an impressio…
• About 1920 to about 1960: 'First published (year)' on the copyright page; a first impression lists no reprints, while later printings add dated reprint lines.

Full Constable first-edition guide →

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 American 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?

Constable, London, 1922 is the collected true first (Kirkpatrick A5a), and the ABAA and auction record treat it as such. Alfred A. Knopf issued the American edition in New York the same year, with a second printing following in July 1922 and further printings through 1923; the Knopf is the first American and is collected in its own right. Caveat on the census claim: the sources consulted do not settle the exact interval between the two, and some describe near-simultaneous London/New York publication in 1922. Kirkpatrick's A5a designation and dealer practice place Constable first, but 'precedes Knopf' should be read as bibliographic precedence rather than a documented gap in days.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Knopf's New York printings after the first are stated on the verso, reaching an eighth by December 1923. The chief 'first thus' trap is the illustrated edition with Marie Laurencin's colour lithographs, limited to 1,200 numbered copies (Kirkpatrick D6) — a first illustrated edition, not the first edition, and its D-number should never be quoted for a Constable trade copy. Modern Library reprints also circulate. No book-club issue tells for the Constable were documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Garden Party and Other Stories a first edition?

A first edition of The Garden Party and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield (Constable) is identified by: London: Constable, 1922 — Kirkpatrick A5a, with 'First published 1922' on the verso and no later-printing statement.

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. Constable, London, 1922 is the collected true first (Kirkpatrick A5a), and the ABAA and auction record treat it as such.

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

Knopf's New York printings after the first are stated on the verso, reaching an eighth by December 1923. The chief 'first thus' trap is the illustrated edition with Marie Laurencin's colour lithographs, limited to 1,200 numbered copies (Kirkpatrick D6) — a first illustrated edition, not the first edition, and its D-number should never be quoted for a Constable trade copy. Modern Library reprints also circulate. No book-club issue tells for the Constable were documented in the sources consulted.

I have a first edition of The Garden Party 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.