Is My The Woman at the Washington Zoo a First Edition?

The points of issue

• This is a stated first: Atheneum printed "First Edition" on the copyright page of its firsts from its founding through the mid-1980s and only adopted a number row thereafter, so a first printing of The Woman at the Washington Zoo: Poems and Translations carries that copyright-page statement and later printings simply drop it
• The book is 65 pp., bound in black buckram (described by dealers as black cloth) stamped in gilt on the spine, and collects poems together with translations, including versions of Rilke
• It was issued in a matching black dust jacket lettered in red, orange and yellow; the collected state has a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap and unclipped
• Dealers also record red-orange endpapers

How Atheneum, New York marked a first edition

• Rule for the number-line era: the lowest number present indicates the printing, so a first printing must still show a 1 in the row. If the 1 (and any lower digits) have dropped off and the line begins at 2 or higher, it…
• Transitional caution: near the changeover a book may carry BOTH a 'First Edition' statement and a number row. When both are present, treat the terminal-1 number row as governing, because a printed 'First Edition' line ca…

Full Atheneum, 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 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?

American origin: Atheneum, New York, 1960 is the true first, and no contemporaneous British edition of this collection is recorded in the sources consulted, so there is no UK-versus-US precedence question. The volume won the National Book Award for Poetry in 1961. The "first thus" traps are later collected volumes rather than rival firsts: the title poem and the rest of the contents are reprinted in Jarrell's later collected and complete poems, which are new settings and not editions of the 1960 book.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for this title. The printing tell is simple and reliable: a copyright page lacking the "First Edition" statement is a later Atheneum printing, and a copyright page carrying a number row is later still, since Atheneum only began using number rows in the mid-1980s. A price-clipped jacket does not by itself affect edition identification but removes the flap price that dealers use as a corroborating check on an unsophisticated jacket.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Woman at the Washington Zoo a first edition?

A first edition of The Woman at the Washington Zoo by Randall Jarrell (Atheneum, New York) is identified by: This is a stated first: Atheneum printed "First Edition" on the copyright page of its firsts from its founding through the mid-1980s and only adopted a number row thereafter, so a first printing of The Woman at the Washington Zoo: Poems and Translations carries that copyright-page statement and later printings simply drop it.

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. American origin: Atheneum, New York, 1960 is the true first, and no contemporaneous British edition of this collection is recorded in the sources consulted, so there is no UK-versus-US precedence question.

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

No book-club issue is documented for this title. The printing tell is simple and reliable: a copyright page lacking the "First Edition" statement is a later Atheneum printing, and a copyright page carrying a number row is later still, since Atheneum only began using number rows in the mid-1980s. A price-clipped jacket does not by itself affect edition identification but removes the flap price that dealers use as a corroborating check on an unsophisticated jacket.

I have a first edition of The Woman at the Washington Zoo — 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.