Is My The Royal Game (Chess Story) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• German-language true first is 'Schachnovelle,' printed in Buenos Aires and finished 7 December 1942 (posthumous — Zweig died in February 1942, having sent the manuscript to his agent Alfredo Cahn shortly before): the standard issue is 250 copies numbered 1–250 in wrappers under the Pigmalión imprint, alongside a deluxe issue of 50 cloth-bound copies numbered I–L (Janos Peter Kramer), identical typography and text
• Note a first-appearance trap: the text's earliest printed appearance was actually a Brazilian-Portuguese translation ('A partida de xadrez,' Rio de Janeiro, September 1942), but the collected true first is the German-language Buenos Aires edition
• First English is 'The Royal Game' (trans
• B.W. Huebsch), The Viking Press, New York, April 1944 — a collection that also gathers 'Amok' and 'Letter from an Unknown Woman' — preceded only by a magazine appearance in Woman's Home Companion, March 1944

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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?

Original-language true first = Pigmalión, Buenos Aires, December 1942 (limited/numbered). English precedence is clear: Viking (New York), April 1944 precedes the first UK edition, Cassell (London), February 1945 — US precedes UK. Dual-title trap: first Englished as 'The Royal Game'; most later translations (e.g. Anthea Bell/NYRB) are titled 'Chess Story' — same work.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A 1944 Armed Services Edition (oblong stapled paperback, Viking copyright) exists and is not the trade first. Later NYRB / Anthea Bell 'Chess Story' printings are modern reprints, not firsts.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Royal Game (Chess Story) a first edition?

A first edition of The Royal Game (Chess Story) by Stefan Zweig (Pigmalión, Buenos Aires) is identified by: German-language true first is 'Schachnovelle,' printed in Buenos Aires and finished 7 December 1942 (posthumous — Zweig died in February 1942, having sent the manuscript to his agent Alfredo Cahn shortly before): the standard issue is 250 copies numbered 1–250 in wrappers under the Pigmalión imprint, alongside a deluxe issue of 50 cloth-bound copies numbered I–L (Janos Peter Kramer), identical typography and text.

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. Original-language true first = Pigmalión, Buenos Aires, December 1942 (limited/numbered).

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

A 1944 Armed Services Edition (oblong stapled paperback, Viking copyright) exists and is not the trade first. Later NYRB / Anthea Bell 'Chess Story' printings are modern reprints, not firsts.

I have a first edition of The Royal Game (Chess Story) — 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.