Is My The Waves a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first issue: The Hogarth Press, London, 1931 (Kirkpatrick A16a
• Woolmer 279)
• Octavo, in publisher's purple cloth with the spine lettered in gilt, issued in the pictorial dust jacket designed by the author's sister Vanessa Bell
• The copyright page carries the statement First published in 1931 without any later impression note; the first impression was followed within the same month by a second impression, so the absence of any impression statement is the key first-issue point
• The Bell jacket should retain its printed price to the flap

How The Hogarth Press marked a first edition

• Crown / Penguin Random House house style: true first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page and carries a full number line whose lowest digit is 1.
• The lowest number in the number line is the decisive signal for the first printing.

Full The Hogarth Press 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?

The UK Hogarth Press printing of 1931 is the true first; the US Harcourt, Brace edition of 1931 is the first American edition and follows it. The first-issue Hogarth binding is purple cloth gilt-lettered on the spine, and the first-issue jacket is Vanessa Bell's design.P-032229

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is a first. The US Harcourt Brace printing is a separate, later issue; and later Hogarth impressions (a second impression appeared the same month) state their impression on the copyright page, unlike the unmarked first.P-032230

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Waves a first edition?

A first edition of The Waves by Virginia Woolf (The Hogarth Press) is identified by: First edition, first issue: The Hogarth Press, London, 1931 (Kirkpatrick A16a; Woolmer 279).

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 UK Hogarth Press printing of 1931 is the true first; the US Harcourt, Brace edition of 1931 is the first American edition and follows it.

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

No book-club issue is a first. The US Harcourt Brace printing is a separate, later issue; and later Hogarth impressions (a second impression appeared the same month) state their impression on the copyright page, unlike the unmarked first.

I have a first edition of The Waves — 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.