Is My The Once and Future King a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The census claim holds: Collins, London, first published April 1958
• Collins printed its full impression history on the copyright page, and that list is the identification test — the first impression shows first publication in April 1958 and nothing after it, while Collins's own reprints of September 1958 and November 1958 and the fourth impression of March 1959 are each stated there
• All of them retain the "first published 1958" line, so the year alone proves nothing; read the whole impression list
• Binding is publisher's dark blue cloth with the spine lettered in gilt, in the pictorial dust jacket; an unclipped jacket retains the price at the flap
• Contents are The Sword in the Stone (revised), The Queen of Air and Darkness (a rewritten version of The Witch in the Wood), The Ill-Made Knight, and The Candle in the Wind — the last printed here for the first time anywhere

How Collins marked a first edition

• First editions either carry NO additional printing statement on the copyright page or state "First published [Year]" — practice was not fully consistent, so confirm with jacket/ad dating
• Later printings noted with impression lines; their absence supports a first

Full Collins 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 UK 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?

UK first: Collins (London), first published April 1958, which precedes the first American edition, G. P. Putnam's Sons (New York), published 25 August 1958 — so UK precedence is confirmed, not assumed. The Putnam is bound in blue cloth with the spine lettered in gilt and is collected as the first American edition and the first US collected edition; both the Collins and the Putnam are collected. The first-thus trap runs in both directions: the constituent novels appeared separately between 1938 and 1940 (The Sword in the Stone, 1938; The Witch in the Wood, 1939; The Ill-Made Knight, 1940) and their texts are revised here, so The Once and Future King is the first edition of the tetralogy and of The Candle in the Wind, but not of the three earlier titles. The Book of Merlyn (University of Texas Press, 1977) is a separate posthumous fifth volume, not part of this edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A 1958 Putnam book-club issue is documented and is the commonest US trap; club copies come in a jacket without price at the flap. On the UK side, the Collins September 1958, November 1958 and March 1959 impressions are routinely offered as "first edition" because the copyright page does say first published 1958 — the impression line is what separates them, and dealers who disclose "first edition, fourth impression" are describing a March 1959 book. A first-issue point ("drowing" for "drowning" at p. 226) circulates in trade listings but could not be corroborated against a second independent source and is not asserted here.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Once and Future King a first edition?

A first edition of The Once and Future King by T. H. White (Collins) is identified by: The census claim holds: Collins, London, first published April 1958.

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. UK first: Collins (London), first published April 1958, which precedes the first American edition, G.

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

A 1958 Putnam book-club issue is documented and is the commonest US trap; club copies come in a jacket without price at the flap. On the UK side, the Collins September 1958, November 1958 and March 1959 impressions are routinely offered as "first edition" because the copyright page does say first published 1958 — the impression line is what separates them, and dealers who disclose "first edition, fourth impression" are describing a March 1959 book. A first-issue point ("drowing" for "drowning" a

I have a first edition of The Once and Future King — 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.