# Is "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (Bompiani, 1980) is identified by: True first is the Italian Il nome della rosa (Bompiani, Milan, 1980), identified by 'I edizione settembre 1980' on the copyright page; issued in full cloth with a pictorial dust jacket reproducing a labyrinth schema, the first-issue jacket priced (price present at the flap/corner; the SIAE first-edition sticker is a further point). True first is the Italian Bompiani 1980 ('I edizione settembre 1980').

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the Italian Il nome della rosa (Bompiani, Milan, 1980), identified by 'I edizione settembre 1980' on the copyright page; issued in full cloth with a pictorial dust jacket reproducing a labyrinth schema, the first-issue jacket priced (price present at the flap/corner; the SIAE first-edition sticker is a further point)
- First English edition: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1983 (trans
- William Weaver) — the first printing is identified by 'First edition' with the letter string 'BCDE' (note the 'A' is ABSENT: HBJ's 1973–83 convention dropped the 'A' from first printings) plus the HBJ colophon
- First UK: Secker & Warburg, London, 1983
- The US HBJ precedes the UK
- Publisher imprint reads Bompiani
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Umberto Eco |
| Publisher | Bompiani |
| Year | 1980 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the Italian Il nome della rosa (Bompiani, Milan, 1980), identified by 'I edizione settembre 1980' on the copyright page… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first is the Italian Il nome della rosa (Bompiani, Milan, 1980), identified by 'I edizione settembre 1980' on the copyright page; issued in full cloth with a pictorial dust jacket reproducing a labyrinth schema, the first-issue jacket priced (price present at the flap/corner; the SIAE first-edition sticker is a further point). First English edition: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1983 (trans. William Weaver) — the first printing is identified by 'First edition' with the letter string 'BCDE' (note the 'A' is ABSENT: HBJ's 1973–83 convention dropped the 'A' from first printings) plus the HBJ colophon. First UK: Secker & Warburg, London, 1983. The US HBJ precedes the UK.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the Italian Bompiani 1980 ('I edizione settembre 1980'). First in English is Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1983 (US), which precedes the first UK, Secker & Warburg, London, 1983 (both 1983; the US edition first).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Italian printings show successive 'edizione' statements rather than 'I edizione settembre 1980.' On the US first, confirm 'First edition' with the letter line 'BCDE' (A absent) and the HBJ colophon — book-club lookalikes lack this letter line and the priced first-issue jacket. US and UK English firsts are distinguished by imprint (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich vs Secker & Warburg).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Name of the Rose* by Umberto Eco a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-name-of-the-rose
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.