Is My The White Peacock a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Duffield & Company, New York, published 19 January 1911 — Lawrence's first book (McDonald 1A; Roberts & Poplawski A1a)
• Title page: 'THE / WHITE PEACOCK / A Novel / By / D. H. Lawrence / (publishers' device) / New York / Duffield & Company / 1911'; the verso carries 'Copyright, 1910, by Duffield & Company' above a rule and 'The Trow Press, New York' below
• Dealers treat that 1910 copyright notice as the first-issue point
• McDonald's 1925 collation records the 1910 notice as the state of the American book, copyright proceedings having begun in both countries in 1910
• Collation pp. viii + 496: blank leaf, half-title, title, table of contents, Part I fly-leaf, text pp
• 3-496, with divisional fly-leaves at pp

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. 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.
3. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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?

Precedence confirmed, motive corrected. Duffield (New York), 19 January 1911, does precede Heinemann (London), 20 January 1911, by one day, so the American edition is the true first of Lawrence's first book. But McDonald records that simultaneous Anglo-American publication was the intention and that copyright proceedings had already begun in both countries during 1910; the census gloss that the American edition was issued a day early 'to secure copyright' is not supported and is dropped. Both editions are collected, and the Heinemann carries the more significant textual point. Heinemann was printed from plates imported from Duffield; its verso reads 'Copyright, London, 1911, by William Heinemann, and Washington, U.S.A., by Duffield and Company'; it has no printer's imprint at all (McDonald records the omission as accidental). After the English sheets were bound a paragraph was bowdlerized and replaced, so Heinemann copies normally show a tipped-in cancel leaf at pp. 229/230 — the Duffield text is unaltered, which is precisely why McDonald collated the American edition. Heinemann: pp. iv + 496; greenish dark blue cloth, a three-panel black rectangle across the front cover with title and author in white in the middle panel and conventionalized rose-bush designs in the end panels; spine gilt with 'Heinemann' at foot; top and fore edges cut, bottom edges untrimmed.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for either 1911 edition. On the Heinemann there were two binding orders of 750 copies each, and both contain the first printed sheets: the first binding has the Heinemann windmill device blind-stamped at the centre of the back cover, the second lacks it. That is a binding variation, not a textual issue — a copy without the blind stamp is still first-edition sheets and should not be downgraded. One caution: dealers' use of 'first issue' for the 1910 copyright notice implies a later Duffield state bearing a 1911 notice, but McDonald's collation records only the 1910 notice; treat any claim of a '1911 copyright' Duffield state as unconfirmed until it is collated against a bibliography.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The White Peacock a first edition?

A first edition of The White Peacock by D. H. Lawrence (Duffield & Company) is identified by: Duffield & Company, New York, published 19 January 1911 — Lawrence's first book (McDonald 1A; Roberts & Poplawski A1a).

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. Precedence confirmed, motive corrected.

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

No book-club issue is documented for either 1911 edition. On the Heinemann there were two binding orders of 750 copies each, and both contain the first printed sheets: the first binding has the Heinemann windmill device blind-stamped at the centre of the back cover, the second lacks it. That is a binding variation, not a textual issue — a copy without the blind stamp is still first-edition sheets and should not be downgraded. One caution: dealers' use of 'first issue' for the 1910 copyright noti

I have a first edition of The White Peacock — 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.