# Is "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1923) is identified by: First edition, first printing: Alfred A. US original and the true first in every sense.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1923
- The whole point is the copyright page, which reads 'Published September, 1923' and lists NO later printing; every subsequent Knopf printing adds its own line
- Octavo, [2], 107, [3] pp., in publisher's black cloth, the spine lettered in gilt and the front board stamped in bright gilt with Gibran's design of a hand holding fire above dancing figures; black topstain
- Complete copies contain twelve full-page collotype plates reproduced from the author's own drawings — count them, as plates are commonly extracted
- Manufactured for Knopf by Vail-Ballou (composition and electrotyping), Beck Engraving (plates) and the Plimpton Press (printing and binding)
- No number line
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf, New York

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Kahlil Gibran |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf, New York |
| Year | 1923 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | First edition, first printing: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1923 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1923. The whole point is the copyright page, which reads 'Published September, 1923' and lists NO later printing; every subsequent Knopf printing adds its own line. Octavo, [2], 107, [3] pp., in publisher's black cloth, the spine lettered in gilt and the front board stamped in bright gilt with Gibran's design of a hand holding fire above dancing figures; black topstain. Complete copies contain twelve full-page collotype plates reproduced from the author's own drawings — count them, as plates are commonly extracted. Manufactured for Knopf by Vail-Ballou (composition and electrotyping), Beck Engraving (plates) and the Plimpton Press (printing and binding). No number line. The original jacket is scarce and most copies are offered without it; refer to it only as: priced jacket / price present at the flap. On the size of the printing, sources agree it was small — about 2,000 copies — and dealer copy repeating 1,159 is in error: that is the number sold in the first year, not the size of the printing.

## Is this the true first?
US original and the true first in every sense. Gibran wrote The Prophet in English, so there is no Arabic or other original-language edition preceding it — his Arabic titles are separate works, not earlier states of this one. The census claim is confirmed. No UK edition precedes or is simultaneous with the Knopf printing in any source located; British issues follow and are first-thus at best. Do not confuse the first printing with the Knopf 'edition de luxe' of 1926, which appeared when the book was already in its eighth printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Prophet has never been out of print, and the overwhelming majority of copies met in donation streams are later Knopf printings that still show 1923 on the title page and carry the 1923 copyright — the added printing line on the copyright verso is what gives them away (documented examples: a 35th printing of August 1936; a 1951 pocket edition at the 24th printing). Other documented look-alikes: the Knopf edition de luxe of 1926; the wartime Armed Services Edition (Council on Books in Wartime), a red-covered paperback that reproduces the 1923 copyright page and the original jacket art on its front cover and is regularly listed as a 1923 book; and the many small-format gift and pocket editions. A dated 1923 title page proves nothing on its own — read the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Prophet* by Kahlil Gibran a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-prophet
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.