Is My Copy of 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

• UK Macmillan (Macmillan & Co. Ltd., London), pre-mid-1920s: first editions carried NO identifying statement — only subsequent printings/reprints were noted. A first is identified by the ABSENCE of any 'Reprinted'…

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: 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.P-044001

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: 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. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.