Is My The Gift (Dar) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First English edition, translated by Michael Scammell in collaboration with the author (with Dmitri Nabokov)
• G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, published May 27, 1963; identify the first printing by the stated first edition
• The UK Weidenfeld & Nicolson edition followed on November 8, 1963, using the same translation

How G. P. Putnam's Sons marked a first edition

• PRE-1928 (early independent house): Putnam printed NO first-edition statement. Identify a first by matching the copyright-page year to the title-page year with no reprint/later-printing notice on the copyright page. Afte…

Full G. P. Putnam's Sons 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?

Originally serialized in Russian (Sovremennye Zapiski, Paris, 1937–38, with one chapter suppressed); first complete Russian book by the Chekhov Publishing House, New York, 1952. The true first English is the Putnam US edition, published May 27, 1963, preceding the UK Weidenfeld & Nicolson edition of November 8, 1963 by roughly five and a half months.P-032266

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Distinguish the 1952 Russian-language Chekhov House first book edition from the 1963 English first. Later Penguin and Vintage paperbacks are reprints.P-032267

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Gift (Dar) a first edition?

A first edition of The Gift (Dar) by Vladimir Nabokov (G. P. Putnam's Sons) is identified by: First English edition, translated by Michael Scammell in collaboration with the author (with Dmitri Nabokov).

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. Originally serialized in Russian (Sovremennye Zapiski, Paris, 1937–38, with one chapter suppressed); first complete Russian book by the Chekhov Publishing House, New York, 1952.

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

Distinguish the 1952 Russian-language Chekhov House first book edition from the 1963 English first. Later Penguin and Vintage paperbacks are reprints.

I have a first edition of The Gift (Dar) — 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.