Is My The World in the Evening a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First British edition published by Methuen, London, 1954, bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering to the spine; the first American edition was published by Random House, New York, the same year in cloth boards
• Both are dated 1954 and appear under a shared dust-jacket design; each should retain the printed price on its respective jacket flap

How Methuen marked a first edition

• Since 1905: state "First published in [Year]" or "First published in Great Britain [Year]" on the copyright page of firsts, with later printings noted

Full Methuen first-edition guide →

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 UK 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?

The UK first edition is Methuen, not The Bodley Head, which did not publish this title. Methuen and Random House both issued the book in 1954; bibliographic precedence between the British and American editions is not firmly established, as no source gives a month for either, and the American Random House edition was in circulation by mid-1954.P-004866

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue noted for the 1954 first printings; verify a copy carries no later-printing statement.P-004867

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The World in the Evening a first edition?

A first edition of The World in the Evening by Christopher Isherwood (Methuen) is identified by: First British edition published by Methuen, London, 1954, bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering to the spine; the first American edition was published by Random House, New York, the same year in cloth boards.

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 first edition is Methuen, not The Bodley Head, which did not publish this title.

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

No book-club issue noted for the 1954 first printings; verify a copy carries no later-printing statement.

I have a first edition of The World in the Evening — 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.