# Is "The Virgin and the Gipsy" by D.H. Lawrence a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Virgin and the Gipsy by D.H. Lawrence (G. Orioli, 1930) is identified by: First edition privately printed for G. The original true first is the Florence (Orioli) limited edition of May 1930, published two months after Lawrence's death.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition privately printed for G. (Pino) Orioli, Florence, May 1930, as No
- 4 in the Lungarno Series, limited to 810 numbered copies on Binda handmade paper
- Bound in cream/ivory paper boards, the upper board blocked in orange-red with Lawrence's phoenix device, the spine with a printed paper label (a spare label frequently tipped in at the rear), edges uncut; issued in a green paper dust jacket printed in black
- Cited as Roberts A54; the limitation statement and numbering are the key first-issue points
- Publisher imprint reads G. Orioli
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | D.H. Lawrence |
| Publisher | G. Orioli |
| Year | 1930 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition privately printed for G. (Pino) Orioli, Florence, May 1930, as No |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition privately printed for G. (Pino) Orioli, Florence, May 1930, as No. 4 in the Lungarno Series, limited to 810 numbered copies on Binda handmade paper. Bound in cream/ivory paper boards, the upper board blocked in orange-red with Lawrence's phoenix device, the spine with a printed paper label (a spare label frequently tipped in at the rear), edges uncut; issued in a green paper dust jacket printed in black. Cited as Roberts A54; the limitation statement and numbering are the key first-issue points.

## Is this the true first?
The original true first is the Florence (Orioli) limited edition of May 1930, published two months after Lawrence's death. It precedes both the first English trade edition, Martin Secker (London), October 1930, and the first American edition, Alfred A. Knopf (New York), November 1930; all three are collected but the Florence issue holds precedence.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Secker (London) and Knopf (New York) trade editions of late 1930 are separate later editions, not reprints of the Florence issue, and do not carry its limitation. No book-club edition is documented for the first appearance.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Virgin and the Gipsy* by D.H. Lawrence a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-virgin-and-the-gipsy
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.