Is My The Immoralist a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the French L'Immoraliste, Société du Mercure de France, Paris, 1902 — printed by the Bussière press at Saint-Amand and finished 20 May 1902, with publication following in May 1902
• Copies are numbered and printed on vergé d'Arches, issued in the plain blue printed wrappers that Mercure used for Gide's works from 1902 through 1946; the blue wrapper is the tell of the series rather than of the first printing alone, so the limitation leaf governs
• The printing is described as 300 numbered copies on vergé d'Arches; note one ambiguity carried in auction cataloguing, which calls the Arches copies 'le seul grand papier' (the only large paper) — phrasing that leaves open whether 300 was the entire edition or only its large-paper portion
• Treat the limitation statement in the copy at hand as the governing evidence
• Format is in-12, collating 259 pages

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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?

The French original (Mercure de France, Paris, 1902) is the true first; there is no English edition of 1902 and every English text is a translation issue. The first English translation is Dorothy Bussy's, published in 1930 by Alfred A. Knopf, New York and by Cassell, London in the same year. The census claim that the US precedes the UK is NOT confirmed: both issues are dated 1930, and no source consulted established the month-level order (one dealer gives Knopf as March 1930; no comparable date was located for Cassell). Collectors take the Mercure 1902 as the book itself; the Knopf and Cassell 1930 issues are collected as the first appearance in English and should be treated as parallel until a firm date settles the order.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 1902 Mercure first. For the Knopf 1930, some copies were issued with a separate Knopf promotional brochure ('Andre Gide 1869-') laid in — that is a publisher's insert, not a club tell, and its presence is not required for a first nor evidence of one. Later Knopf and Cassell printings, the 1949 reissues, and the subsequent retranslations (Richard Howard for Random House; David Watson for Penguin; Stanley Appelbaum for Dover) are 'first thus' traps rather than firsts.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Immoralist a first edition?

A first edition of The Immoralist by André Gide (Société du Mercure de France, Paris) is identified by: The true first is the French L'Immoraliste, Société du Mercure de France, Paris, 1902 — printed by the Bussière press at Saint-Amand and finished 20 May 1902, with publication following in May 1902.

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. The French original (Mercure de France, Paris, 1902) is the true first; there is no English edition of 1902 and every English text is a translation issue.

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

No book-club issue is documented for the 1902 Mercure first. For the Knopf 1930, some copies were issued with a separate Knopf promotional brochure ('Andre Gide 1869-') laid in — that is a publisher's insert, not a club tell, and its presence is not required for a first nor evidence of one. Later Knopf and Cassell printings, the 1949 reissues, and the subsequent retranslations (Richard Howard for Random House; David Watson for Penguin; Stanley Appelbaum for Dover) are 'first thus' traps rather t

I have a first edition of The Immoralist — 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.