Is My The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first impression: Macmillan and Co., London, 1936, published February 1936; octavo, about 22 x 14.5 cm; collation [2], xii, 403, [1] pp
• Points: title page dated 1936 with the Macmillan and Co., Limited, London imprint, and a verso free of any impression or reprint statement — Macmillan reprinted fast, the second impression following in March 1936 and the third in December 1936, and those later impressions are noted on the copyright page while the title page keeps the 1936 date
• Binding: publisher's blue cloth (described by dealers as pebbled blue and, in some copies, blue-green), spine lettered and ruled in gilt, boards with blind rules
• The dust jacket is scarce and is the copy-defining element; it carries the price at the spine or flap, so refer to a jacketed copy as priced-jacket present rather than assuming the jacket
• Standard citations: Printing and the Mind of Man 423
• Moggridge A10.1

How Macmillan and Co., Limited marked a first edition

• FIRM SPLIT FIRST — this is the master rule. 'Macmillan' is not one publisher. The London parent was founded in 1843 by Daniel and Alexander Macmillan; George Edward Brett opened the New York office in 1869; in 1896 the f…
• Macmillan of Canada (Toronto, 1905–2002): the standard reference verdict is that this firm DOES NOT DESIGNATE first editions and provides no marks distinguishing printings. Do not assume a Canadian Macmillan first becaus…

Full Macmillan and Co., Limited 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?

UK true first: Macmillan, London, February 1936 has precedence and is the edition of record. The first American edition — Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1936, xii + 403 pp., also in blue cloth lettered in gilt — is separately collected as the first US and follows the London printing within the same year. CAUTION: dealer descriptions of the Harcourt Brace issue conflict on how it was manufactured (some say it was made up from British sheets and printed in Edinburgh; others record printing by the Polygraphic Company of America, New York), and this workflow could not resolve the conflict — do not publish a manufacturing claim for the US edition. Collect the London Macmillan for the true first; collect Harcourt Brace only as the first American.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for either 1936 edition. The tells that matter are the Macmillan later impressions of 1936 itself — second (March 1936) and third (December 1936) — which retain the 1936 title-page date and are distinguished only by the reprint statement on the verso; a copy offered as "1936 first edition" on the strength of the title-page date alone must have its copyright page checked. Later traps are the Macmillan Collected Writings volume VII (1973) and the many modern Harcourt/Palgrave Macmillan reprints and facsimiles.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money a first edition?

A first edition of The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by John Maynard Keynes (Macmillan and Co., Limited) is identified by: Census claim confirmed.

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. UK true first: Macmillan, London, February 1936 has precedence and is the edition of record.

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

No book-club issue is documented for either 1936 edition. The tells that matter are the Macmillan later impressions of 1936 itself — second (March 1936) and third (December 1936) — which retain the 1936 title-page date and are distinguished only by the reprint statement on the verso; a copy offered as "1936 first edition" on the strength of the title-page date alone must have its copyright page checked. Later traps are the Macmillan Collected Writings volume VII (1973) and the many modern Harcou

I have a first edition of The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money — 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.