Is My The Real Life of Sebastian Knight a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Juliar A21.1, first printing, issue a, published 6 December 1941 — the day before Pearl Harbor
• Title page reads "NEW DIRECTIONS
• NORFOLK, CONN."; copyright page reads "COPYRIGHT BY NEW DIRECTIONS, 1941"; the colophon reads "FIFTEEN HUNDRED COPIES PRINTED IN NOVEMBER MCMXLI, BY THE WALPOLE PRINTING OFFICE, MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK"
• Three points decide issue a:
• BINDING — issue a is a rough woven burlap red cloth over boards with white endpapers; issue b is a smooth red cloth
• LABELS — issue a's front-cover and spine paper labels are the SMALL size only (front label 6.1 x 5.8 cm with decorative leaf border, text line c

How New Directions marked a first edition

• Modern paperbacks carry a descending number line; lowest digit (1) present indicates first printing.

Full New Directions 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 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?

The US New Directions 1941 edition is the true first — confirmed. This is Nabokov's first novel written in English (begun Paris, December 1938; finished January 1939), so no Russian original precedes it and no original-language precedence question arises. The first British edition is Editions Poetry London (PL), December 1945 (Juliar A21.2): plum cloth over boards, gilt spine stamping running across within a scrollwork border, thin tan paper jacket; the copyright page reads "First published in 1945 by PL Editions Poetry London... Produced in Complete Conformity with the Authorised Economy Standards". Juliar notes uncertain evidence it may in fact have been issued March 1946. Both the New Directions 1941 and the Editions Poetry London 1945 are collected; the 1941 has precedence. FIRST-THUS TRAP: the 1959 New Directions reissue (Juliar A21.3) is not a first edition — its copyright page carries BOTH "COPYRIGHT BY NEW DIRECTIONS, 1941" and "COPYRIGHT © 1959 BY NEW DIRECTIONS" plus LC card number 59-9489, it has no colophon, and it adds introductory matter (pp. vii-xv).

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 1941 first. The reprint traps are later editions rather than clubs: the 1959 New American edition (Juliar A21.3, twelve issues), the 1960 Weidenfeld & Nicolson British edition (A21.4), Penguin wrappers from November 1964 (A21.5), and Vintage from 1992 (A21.6). Critically, the second binding of the original 1941 sheets (issue b, smooth red cloth) is NOT a reprint — it is the same first printing, bound later, and remains the first edition, though it ranks below issue a. Juliar, working from New Directions' own records, dates that second binding April 1945; note that some dealer descriptions instead say 1949, and Juliar's date should be preferred as the bibliographically documented one.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Real Life of Sebastian Knight a first edition?

A first edition of The Real Life of Sebastian Knight by Vladimir Nabokov (New Directions) is identified by: Juliar A21.1, first printing, issue a, published 6 December 1941 — the day before Pearl Harbor.

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. The US New Directions 1941 edition is the true first — confirmed.

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

No book-club issue is documented for the 1941 first. The reprint traps are later editions rather than clubs: the 1959 New American edition (Juliar A21.3, twelve issues), the 1960 Weidenfeld & Nicolson British edition (A21.4), Penguin wrappers from November 1964 (A21.5), and Vintage from 1992 (A21.6). Critically, the second binding of the original 1941 sheets (issue b, smooth red cloth) is NOT a reprint — it is the same first printing, bound later, and remains the first edition, though it ranks b

I have a first edition of The Real Life of Sebastian Knight — 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.