Is My The Unvanquished a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The trade first printing states "First Printing" on the copyright page
• Bound in grey cloth (toned copies are often catalogued as tan) stamped in red and blue, with a red top stain
• 8vo, [8], 293 pp., the first leaf a blank
• Illustrated with drawings by Edward Shenton — the first of Faulkner's American trade books to be illustrated
• Jacket priced at the front flap
• Cited as Petersen A19.1 and Brodsky 193 by Bauman Rare Books, though one ABAA dealer catalogues the trade issue as Petersen A18a, so the Petersen numbering is not consistent across catalogues and should not be used as the sole test

How Random House, New York marked a first edition

• Stated-edition era (c.1936–1975): trade first printings are plainly marked with the words 'First Edition' (or, on some earlier titles, 'First Printing') on the copyright page, with NO number line yet in use; a copyright…
• Divisional practice — share the STATEMENT, not the '2'-line: sister divisions state 'First Edition' as their firsts (Alfred A. Knopf consistently since 1933–34; Pantheon since 1964), so the words work across the family.…

Full Random House, 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?

US Random House, New York, 1938 is the true first. Within that publication the signed limited issue of 250 copies precedes the trade printing — Bauman Rare Books states the trade first was "preceded by a signed limited edition of 250 copies" — so the limited, not the trade, is the earliest issue; both are collected, and the trade first in jacket is the standard collector's copy. The first English edition followed from Chatto & Windus (London) later in 1938, set to 319 pp., and carries no precedence claim. First-thus trap: several of the seven linked Sartoris stories had appeared earlier in magazines, so periodical appearances predate the book, but the collected book text is first published here. The census claim is confirmed, with the correction that the 250-copy signed limited precedes the trade printing it named.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue of the 1938 Random House printing is documented in the sources consulted. Later Random House printings and subsequent reprints lack the "First Printing" line on the copyright page; the line, together with grey cloth stamped in red and blue and the red top stain, is the test. The signed limited is a publisher's issue, not a reprint, and correctly has no printed jacket — only an acetate wrapper.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Unvanquished a first edition?

A first edition of The Unvanquished by William Faulkner (Random House, New York) is identified by: The trade first printing states "First Printing" on the copyright page.

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. US Random House, New York, 1938 is the true first.

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

No book-club issue of the 1938 Random House printing is documented in the sources consulted. Later Random House printings and subsequent reprints lack the "First Printing" line on the copyright page; the line, together with grey cloth stamped in red and blue and the red top stain, is the test. The signed limited is a publisher's issue, not a reprint, and correctly has no printed jacket — only an acetate wrapper.

I have a first edition of The Unvanquished — 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.