Is My The Iron Heel a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The copyright page of the first printing reads 'Copyright, 1907, By Jack London.' above the line 'Set up and electrotyped
• Published February, 1908.', with the Norwood Press imprint below it (J. S. Cushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith Co., Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.); this was confirmed against a scan of a 1908 Macmillan copy
• Later Macmillan impressions retain that statement and add 'Reprinted' lines with dates beneath it, so the absence of any reprint notation is the operative point
• Collation is xiv, 354 pp., followed by 4 pp. of publisher's advertisements listing London's books at the rear
• The book is bound in blue cloth, the front board with a pictorial design and lettering stamped in grey, the spine lettered in gilt
• A binding variant is recorded in which the foot of the publisher's name on the spine sits roughly 4 mm above the bottom edge, against roughly 7 mm on other copies; priority between the two has not been established, so neither gap is a first-state point and neither should be sold as one

How The Macmillan Company 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 The Macmillan Company 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?

US first, as the census claims: The Macmillan Company, New York, published February 1908, is the true first. Everett & Co., London, 1908, is the first English edition and is collected separately as a scarce edition in its own right; the sources consulted give it no month and none place it ahead of the February Macmillan, so the Macmillan holds precedence on the available evidence. Both are collected — name Macmillan (New York, February 1908) as the true first and Everett & Co. (London, 1908) as the English first. The 1917 Macmillan reissue and the many later trade, mass-market and scholarly reprints are separate editions.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Reprint tells sit on the copyright page: later Macmillan impressions keep 'Set up and electrotyped. Published February, 1908.' and add dated 'Reprinted' lines beneath it, so read the full block rather than stopping at the February line — this is the single most common way a later impression is mistaken for the first. The 1917 Macmillan reissue is a separate edition. No book-club issue of the 1908 Macmillan is documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Iron Heel a first edition?

A first edition of The Iron Heel by Jack London (The Macmillan Company) is identified by: The copyright page of the first printing reads 'Copyright, 1907, By Jack London.' above the line 'Set up and electrotyped.

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. US first, as the census claims: The Macmillan Company, New York, published February 1908, is the true first.

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

Reprint tells sit on the copyright page: later Macmillan impressions keep 'Set up and electrotyped. Published February, 1908.' and add dated 'Reprinted' lines beneath it, so read the full block rather than stopping at the February line — this is the single most common way a later impression is mistaken for the first. The 1917 Macmillan reissue is a separate edition. No book-club issue of the 1908 Macmillan is documented in the sources consulted.

I have a first edition of The Iron Heel — 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.