Is My The Invention of Morel a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first: Editorial Losada, Buenos Aires, 1940 (La invencion de Morel), issued in original illustrated wrappers with cover and interior illustration by Norah Borges and a prologue by Jorge Luis Borges; printed at the Imprenta Lopez, Buenos Aires, the print colophon dated 14 November 1940 identifies the first printing
• First edition in English is a 'first thus' omnibus, 'The Invention of Morel and Other Stories (from La Trama Celeste),' University of Texas Press, Austin, 1964, translated by Ruth L. C. Simms with full-page illustrations by Norah Borges de Torre and the Borges prologue; the novella appears in English there for the first time
• The UT Press first is bound in light whitish-brown cloth, spine lettered in black with spine and front board stamped in green, green endpapers, in a priced pictorial dust jacket; a variant with the top edge stained yellow is recorded

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 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?

Original-language (Argentine Spanish) true first is Losada 1940. No competing UK edition of the period exists; the first English is the US University of Texas Press 1964 omnibus, which should be collected as 'first in English / first thus,' not as the first appearance of the text (that is the 1940 Losada).

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented for either the 1940 Losada or the 1964 UT Press first. The NYRB Classics reissue (2003, reusing the Simms translation) and later paperbacks are reprints, not firsts.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Invention of Morel a first edition?

A first edition of The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares (Editorial Losada, Buenos Aires) is identified by: True first: Editorial Losada, Buenos Aires, 1940 (La invencion de Morel), issued in original illustrated wrappers with cover and interior illustration by Norah Borges and a prologue by Jorge Luis Borges; printed at the Imprenta Lopez, Buenos Aires, the print colophon dated 14 November 1940 identifies the first printing.

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. Original-language (Argentine Spanish) true first is Losada 1940.

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

No book-club edition is documented for either the 1940 Losada or the 1964 UT Press first. The NYRB Classics reissue (2003, reusing the Simms translation) and later paperbacks are reprints, not firsts.

I have a first edition of The Invention of Morel — 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.