Is My The Midwich Cuckoos a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first impression: London, Michael Joseph, 1957, octavo, 239 pp., in the publisher's black cloth with the spine lettered in gilt
• Dustwrapper is the red-and-cream pictorial design by Dick Hart, with the publisher's price present at the foot of the front flap
• Per Michael Joseph's house convention, first impressions state "First published" with the year on the copyright page and list no further impressions; the presence of any additional impression statement (e.g. a second or third impression line, some dated 1958) rules out the first
• There is no number line on this publisher's books of the period

How Michael Joseph marked a first edition

• First printing = statement present AND no subsequent-impression lines

Full Michael Joseph 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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
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?

Census claim CONFIRMED as to precedence, with one correction to the detail: Michael Joseph, London, 1957 is the true first. The Science Fiction Encyclopedia bibliography lists The Midwich Cuckoos (London: Michael Joseph, 1957) followed by The Midwich Cuckoos (New York: Ballantine Books, 1958) marked "[rev of the above]". The US Ballantine edition therefore did NOT follow in the same year — it is 1958, and it carries a revised text, so it is not textually identical to the UK first. Only the Michael Joseph edition is the true first; the Ballantine 1958 is the first American edition. The novel is the basis of the film Village of the Damned, and film-tie-in reissues are a first-thus trap.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 1957 Michael Joseph printing in the sources consulted. Later Michael Joseph impressions (second, third, some carrying 1958 dates) are identified by the added impression statement on the copyright page while retaining the same jacket design, which is a common source of misdescription on this title.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Midwich Cuckoos a first edition?

A first edition of The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham (Michael Joseph) is identified by: First edition, first impression: London, Michael Joseph, 1957, octavo, 239 pp., in the publisher's black cloth with the spine lettered in gilt.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). Census claim CONFIRMED as to precedence, with one correction to the detail: Michael Joseph, London, 1957 is the true first.

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

No book-club issue is documented for the 1957 Michael Joseph printing in the sources consulted. Later Michael Joseph impressions (second, third, some carrying 1958 dates) are identified by the added impression statement on the copyright page while retaining the same jacket design, which is a common source of misdescription on this title.

I have a first edition of The Midwich Cuckoos — 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.