Is My The Sundial a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing is identified by an explicit statement — 'First Printing, 1958' — on the copyright page; the Farrar, Straus & Cudahy imprint of this period states 'First printing' or 'First published (year)' on firsts and drops the line on later printings (corroborated by both the Quill & Brush and fedpo publisher guides)
• Bound in the publisher's original black paper-covered boards over a grey spine cloth, lettered in black; octavo, 245 pp
• The dust wrapper on a first-issue copy is unclipped, a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap
• Copies are sometimes found with the flap price struck through and hand-corrected by a bookseller — a retail mark, not a printing point, and not evidence of a later issue

How Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, New York marked a first edition

• ERA 1 - Farrar, Straus and Company (founding, c.1945/46-1950): No number line and no consistent 'First Edition' statement. Identify a first printing by the stylized interlocked 'FS' publisher's device on the copyright pa…
• ERA 3 - Farrar, Straus and Cudahy (1953-1963): Imprint line reads 'Farrar, Straus and Cudahy' after the 1953 Pellegrini & Cudahy merger. First printings state 'First Printing (year)' or 'First Published (year)' on the co…

Full Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, New York 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 true first is the US Farrar, Straus and Cudahy edition, New York, 1958; Jackson was an American author published first in America. The first English edition appeared from Michael Joseph, London, in the same year, 1958, in maroon cloth with the spine stamped in gilt and collating 254 pp.; it follows the US issue and is catalogued as the first English edition, not a co-first. Both are collected, but precedence belongs to the Farrar, Straus and Cudahy. The census note is correct.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue of the 1958 US first is documented in the sources consulted. The reliable reprint tell for this title is negative: a copy of the Farrar, Straus and Cudahy issue whose copyright page lacks the 'First Printing, 1958' line is a later printing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Sundial a first edition?

A first edition of The Sundial by Shirley Jackson (Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, New York) is identified by: The first printing is identified by an explicit statement — 'First Printing, 1958' — on the copyright page; the Farrar, Straus & Cudahy imprint of this period states 'First printing' or 'First published (year)' on firsts and drops the line on later printings (corroborated by both the Quill & Brush and fedpo publisher guides).

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 true first is the US Farrar, Straus and Cudahy edition, New York, 1958; Jackson was an American author published first in America.

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

No book-club issue of the 1958 US first is documented in the sources consulted. The reliable reprint tell for this title is negative: a copy of the Farrar, Straus and Cudahy issue whose copyright page lacks the 'First Printing, 1958' line is a later printing.

I have a first edition of The Sundial — 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.