Is My Copy of The Master and Margarita (Master i Margarita) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The point of issue is a genuine textual/translation split, not printings — two different 1967 English translations
• Mirra Ginsburg's translation, Grove Press, New York, 1967 (stated first edition, first printing; octavo, 402 pp), made from the shortened/censored 'Moskva' magazine text
• Michael Glenny's translation, issued the same year by Collins & Harvill (London) — the first UK edition — and by Harper & Row (New York), made from a fuller, less-censored text that restores passages the Soviet censor cut
• Identify by the translator credit on the title page: Ginsburg = Grove (shorter)
• Glenny = Collins & Harvill / Harper & Row (fuller)

How Grove Press marked a first edition

• First editions and later printings are noted on the copyright page; the modern practice uses a number row/printer's key, with the presence of '1' (or the lowest digit) indicating a first printing.
• Grove added a number row around 1969 (initially on the last page before the rear free endpaper, later on the copyright page) but often failed to remove a 'First Edition' statement from reprints — so a 'First Edition'…

Full Grove Press 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. 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?

First English is 1967 in two competing states, each the first of its own text: Grove/Ginsburg (shorter, censored 'Moskva' text) versus Collins & Harvill and Harper & Row/Glenny (fuller text). Which physically appeared first is disputed and not the collecting point — the translator and text are. Neither is the complete text: the full Russian book followed later (Posev, Frankfurt, 1969; full Soviet text 1973), and the first fully complete English translation is Burgin & O'Connor 1995.P-037038

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Specify translator and publisher. Do NOT assume Harper & Row = Ginsburg: Harper & Row's 1967 is the Glenny (fuller) text, while Ginsburg's shorter text is the Grove issue. The censorship-driven textual difference is the key point of issue; later printings carry number lines.P-037039

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Master and Margarita (Master i Margarita) a first edition?

A first edition of The Master and Margarita (Master i Margarita) by Mikhail Bulgakov (Grove Press) is identified by: The point of issue is a genuine textual/translation split, not printings — two different 1967 English translations.

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. First English is 1967 in two competing states, each the first of its own text: Grove/Ginsburg (shorter, censored 'Moskva' text) versus Collins & Harvill and Harper & Row/Glenny (fuller text).

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

Specify translator and publisher. Do NOT assume Harper & Row = Ginsburg: Harper & Row's 1967 is the Glenny (fuller) text, while Ginsburg's shorter text is the Grove issue. The censorship-driven textual difference is the key point of issue; later printings carry number lines.

I have a first edition of The Master and Margarita (Master i Margarita) — 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.