Is My The Way of All Flesh a First Edition?

The points of issue

• London: Grant Richards, 1903 — first edition, published posthumously a year after Butler's death and arranged, as the author had asked, by his literary executor R.A. Streatfeild
• Octavo, 424pp plus 12pp of publisher's advertisements at the rear
• Bound in original red cloth, titled in gilt on the front board and the spine, top edge gilt
• The first-issue requirements the ABAA trade states are that the half-title is present and the 12-page terminal publisher's advertisements are present — both are routinely absent from rebound or cropped copies, which is the usual reason a copy fails
• No printing statement or number line is involved: the 1903 Grant Richards title page plus the intact half-title and rear ads are the identification

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the American 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?

Grant Richards, London, 1903 is the true first, confirming the census claim; there is no competing simultaneous edition. E.P. Dutton, New York, issued the first American edition in 1910 — the census year is right — but note that several dealers misdescribe Dutton's 1916 printing as the first American, so check the date on the title page. The more important 'first thus' point is textual rather than national: the 1903 text is Streatfeild's, and he made substantial changes to Butler's manuscript. Butler's unaltered manuscript text was not published until 1964, as 'Ernest Pontifex, or The Way of All Flesh', edited by Daniel F. Howard (Houghton Mifflin, Boston) — a first appearance of the true text, not a first edition of the book.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Grant Richards printings and the many reprints separate readily by imprint and date: E.P. Dutton (New York, 1916 and after), the Heritage Press edition of 1936 with a Theodore Dreiser introduction, Doubleday Doran 1944, and mid-century paperback giants are all reprints or 'first thus'. No book-club-specific tells for the 1903 Grant Richards were documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Way of All Flesh a first edition?

A first edition of The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler (Grant Richards) is identified by: London: Grant Richards, 1903 — first edition, published posthumously a year after Butler's death and arranged, as the author had asked, by his literary executor R.A.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). Grant Richards, London, 1903 is the true first, confirming the census claim; there is no competing simultaneous edition.

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

Later Grant Richards printings and the many reprints separate readily by imprint and date: E.P. Dutton (New York, 1916 and after), the Heritage Press edition of 1936 with a Theodore Dreiser introduction, Doubleday Doran 1944, and mid-century paperback giants are all reprints or 'first thus'. No book-club-specific tells for the 1903 Grant Richards were documented in the sources consulted.

I have a first edition of The Way of All Flesh — 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.