Is My The Rainbow a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Ltd., London, published 30 September 1915; first printing 2,500 copies (McDonald 7
• Roberts A7/A7a)
• The title page is undated — 'THE RAINBOW / By / D. H. Lawrence / Author of "Sons and Lovers" / Methuen & Co
• Ltd. / 36 Essex Street W. C. / London' — with 'First Published in 1915' centred on the verso; a dated title page is therefore not a first-edition feature
• Collation pp. viii + 468: half-title, title, dedication 'To Else', table of contents, text pp
• -463; the printers' imprint is centred on p

How Methuen & Co. Ltd. marked a first edition

• Since 1905: state "First published in [Year]" or "First published in Great Britain [Year]" on the copyright page of firsts, with later printings noted

Full Methuen & Co. Ltd. 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 American 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?

Methuen, London, 30 September 1915 is the true first and the only edition carrying Lawrence's complete text — the census is confirmed on both counts. The book circulated roughly six weeks before Bow Street magistrates ordered it suppressed as obscene on 13 November 1915; Methuen did not defend the action, was fined and complied with the order to destroy stock, so the majority of the 2,500 copies were destroyed and no copies were distributed by Methuen after 13 November 1915. The census date for the American edition is corrected: McDonald records the first American edition as published from new plates, in expurgated form, by B. W. Huebsch, New York, in 1916 — not 1915. Some sources report that it was in fact issued on 30 November 1915 with an 1916 title-page date in order to establish the American copyright, so the 1915/1916 dating is genuinely contested and both are noted rather than one asserted. In no account is it a co-first: it is a later, separately-set, expurgated edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 1915 Methuen. The traps are the expurgated American line — Huebsch (New York, 1916 title-page date), Huebsch's subsequent and more expensive form, and Thomas Seltzer (New York, 1924), all of which carry the same cut text — routinely offered as 'first editions' of The Rainbow when they are neither the first nor the complete text. Confirm against the Methuen points: undated title page, 'First Published in 1915' on the verso, the Hazell, Watson and Viney imprint on p. (464), and the 'Autumn, 1915' Methuen's Popular Novels list on p. (465).

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Rainbow a first edition?

A first edition of The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence (Methuen & Co. Ltd.) is identified by: Ltd., London, published 30 September 1915; first printing 2,500 copies (McDonald 7; Roberts A7/A7a).

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. Methuen, London, 30 September 1915 is the true first and the only edition carrying Lawrence's complete text — the census is confirmed on both counts.

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

No book-club issue is documented for the 1915 Methuen. The traps are the expurgated American line — Huebsch (New York, 1916 title-page date), Huebsch's subsequent and more expensive form, and Thomas Seltzer (New York, 1924), all of which carry the same cut text — routinely offered as 'first editions' of The Rainbow when they are neither the first nor the complete text. Confirm against the Methuen points: undated title page, 'First Published in 1915' on the verso, the Hazell, Watson and Viney imp

I have a first edition of The Rainbow — 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.