Is My The Hive a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First English edition appeared in 1953, translated by J. M. Cohen (with Arturo Barea) and carrying Arturo Barea's introduction, published in London by Victor Gollancz and in New York by Farrar, Straus & Young
• Both are 1953; the precise priority between the UK and US issues is not firmly established, so neither should be asserted as the sole first English without copy-specific evidence

How Victor Gollancz, London / Farrar, Straus & Young, New York marked a first edition

• Pre-1984: NO first-edition statement was made — first printings carry no 'First published' line; ONLY later printings were noted (so absence of any printing statement = likely first, presence of a reprint note = later)
• For pre-1984 titles, confirm via dust-jacket points, dated jackets, and absence of reprint notation rather than a positive statement

Full Victor Gollancz, London / Farrar, Straus & Young, New York 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 UK 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?

True first of the work is the Spanish 'La colmena' (Emecé, Buenos Aires, 1951 — first published in Argentina owing to Spanish censorship). The first English edition is from 1953, issued by Gollancz (UK) and Farrar, Straus & Young (US); priority between the two same-year issues is unsettled.P-004003

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Farrar, Straus paperbacks and other reprints are not the 1953 first English.P-004004

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Hive a first edition?

A first edition of The Hive by Camilo José Cela (trans. J. M. Cohen with Arturo Barea) (Victor Gollancz, London / Farrar, Straus & Young, New York) is identified by: First English edition appeared in 1953, translated by J.

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. True first of the work is the Spanish 'La colmena' (Emecé, Buenos Aires, 1951 — first published in Argentina owing to Spanish censorship).

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

Later Farrar, Straus paperbacks and other reprints are not the 1953 first English.

I have a first edition of The Hive — 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.