Is My The Sheltering Sky a First Edition?

The points of issue

• UK true first (John Lehmann, London, September 1949): publisher's grey cloth, the spine titled in gilt on a blue ground; octavo; pictorial dust jacket designed by Fred Uhlman, priced jacket
• The first impression's copyright page states first publication in 1949 with no impression statement — the point matters because Lehmann reprinted almost immediately: a stated second impression followed within the same month (September 1949) and a stated third impression in October 1949, so any copy carrying an impression statement is not the first
• First American (New Directions, New York, 1949): publisher's tan cloth, spine stamped in blue and black
• 318 pp; dust jacket designed by Alvin Lustig, priced jacket
• The first printing carries 'First Published 1949' on the copyright page with no later-printing statement
• New Directions used no number line, so the absence of added printing history is the identification

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. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
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?

TRUE FIRST IS UK — confirmed. Doubleday declined the manuscript as insufficiently novelistic, and John Lehmann Ltd (London) published it first, in September 1949; New Directions (New York) followed later the same year. The census claim of 'December 1949' for New Directions is CORRECTED: sources consulted report the American edition appearing in October 1949, though the exact month is not confirmed to two independent bibliographic authorities and should be treated as approximate. Both editions are collected: the Lehmann as the true first, the New Directions as the first American edition (and the more familiar book, on the strength of the Lustig jacket).

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented for either the Lehmann or the New Directions issue in the sources consulted. The reprint tell for the American edition is added printing history on the copyright page; for the London edition it is a stated second or third impression. Supplied facsimile jackets are the more common trap for both.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Sheltering Sky a first edition?

A first edition of The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles (John Lehmann, London) is identified by: UK true first (John Lehmann, London, September 1949): publisher's grey cloth, the spine titled in gilt on a blue ground; octavo; pictorial dust jacket designed by Fred Uhlman, priced jacket.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). TRUE FIRST IS UK — confirmed.

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

No book-club edition documented for either the Lehmann or the New Directions issue in the sources consulted. The reprint tell for the American edition is added printing history on the copyright page; for the London edition it is a stated second or third impression. Supplied facsimile jackets are the more common trap for both.

I have a first edition of The Sheltering Sky — 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.