Is My The Screwtape Letters a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary Press, February 1942
• The first impression copyright page reads 'First published February 1942' with NO subsequent reprint dates; the title sold rapidly and reprints (March, April, May, June, August 1942) were issued the same year, so any copy listing later dates is a later impression
• Original cloth in dust jacket
• The text grew out of the 1941 Guardian serialization

How Geoffrey Bles marked a first edition

• The decisive later-printing tell is an ADDED line under the original statement: 'Reprinted [year]', 'Second impression [year]', 'New impression', etc. If any such line is present it is not a first impression, even though…

Full Geoffrey Bles 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?

The UK Bles edition is the true first; the US Macmillan edition followed in 1943. The 1961 'The Screwtape Letters and Screwtape Proposes a Toast' adds new material and is a first thus, not the first edition of the original work.P-003976

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Because reprints followed within months, examine the copyright page closely: only the standalone 'First published February 1942' line indicates the first impression. Macmillan and book-club copies are not the true first.P-003977

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Screwtape Letters a first edition?

A first edition of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis (Geoffrey Bles) is identified by: First edition, Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary Press, February 1942.

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 UK Bles edition is the true first; the US Macmillan edition followed in 1943.

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

Because reprints followed within months, examine the copyright page closely: only the standalone 'First published February 1942' line indicates the first impression. Macmillan and book-club copies are not the true first.

I have a first edition of The Screwtape Letters — 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.