Is My The Victim a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The Vanguard Press, New York, 1947 — Bellow's second novel, [viii], 294pp, bound in black cloth with the spine lettered in blue
• The jacket is pale/powder blue with white lettering to the spine and front panel; the first issue is unclipped with the price present at the front flap, and clipped jackets are common on the market
• Vanguard stated nothing on first printings and noted later impressions on the verso, but the same caution applies as with Dangling Man: the Quill & Brush guide records that Vanguard sometimes failed to note subsequent printings, so a clean verso is not conclusive on its own
• Offsetting and browning to the endpapers and gutters is characteristic of the paper stock and is a condition trait, not a printing point
• Reports of a blue-stained top edge are NOT corroborated across the dealer descriptions consulted — one describes a top-edge stain, another explicitly records none — so do not treat a top-edge stain as a point of issue

How The Vanguard Press, New York marked a first edition

• No printing statement on first editions; Vanguard had no 'First Edition' designation and sometimes even failed to note subsequent printings, so absence of a printing statement is the chief (weak) indicator for pre-1970s…

Full The Vanguard Press, 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 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?

Census claim confirmed. Vanguard Press, New York, 1947 is the true first. The first UK edition, separately collected, is John Lehmann, London, 1948: blue cloth boards with gilt lettering to the spine, in a jacket designed by Edward Bawden with the British price present at the flap. The Lehmann issue follows the US edition by a year and does not compete for precedence; there is no original-language question.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue of the 1947 Vanguard printing is documented in the sources consulted. Given Vanguard's inconsistent verso practice, a copy lacking the pale blue priced jacket is effectively unverifiable on the printing question from the book alone. Later Vanguard impressions and post-1950 reissues are the usual confusions.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Victim a first edition?

A first edition of The Victim by Saul Bellow (The Vanguard Press, New York) is identified by: The Vanguard Press, New York, 1947 — Bellow's second novel, [viii], 294pp, bound in black cloth with the spine lettered in blue.

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. Census claim confirmed.

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

No book-club issue of the 1947 Vanguard printing is documented in the sources consulted. Given Vanguard's inconsistent verso practice, a copy lacking the pale blue priced jacket is effectively unverifiable on the printing question from the book alone. Later Vanguard impressions and post-1950 reissues are the usual confusions.

I have a first edition of The Victim — 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.