Is My Three Plays for Puritans a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition: Grant Richards, London, January 1901, in an issue of 2,500 copies, bound in green cloth (crown 8vo, published at the printed price); the volume gathers 'The Devil's Disciple,' 'Caesar and Cleopatra,' and 'Captain Brassbound's Conversion' with Shaw's long three-part preface
• The American issue (Herbert S. Stone & Co., Chicago and New York, 1901) followed the same year
• Beyond the 1901 Grant Richards imprint, green cloth and the 2,500-copy issue, sharp state points are not documented in the trade record; a first is identified chiefly by the Grant Richards title page dated 1901 and the absence of any later-impression statement

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. 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. 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?

London Grant Richards (1901) is the accepted true first; the Chicago/New York Herbert S. Stone issue appeared the same year and followed (the Gale/DLB reference lists 'London: Richards, 1901' ahead of 'Stone, 1901'). Precedence over the Stone issue by a specific interval is not documented, but the London edition is conventionally regarded as first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Grant Richards and Constable reprints, and the American Stone printings (e.g., a 1904 Stone issue exists), follow; no book-club issue documented for the 1901 first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Three Plays for Puritans a first edition?

A first edition of Three Plays for Puritans by George Bernard Shaw (Grant Richards, London) is identified by: First edition: Grant Richards, London, January 1901, in an issue of 2,500 copies, bound in green cloth (crown 8vo, published at the printed price); the volume gathers 'The Devil's Disciple,' 'Caesar and Cleopatra,' and 'Captain Brassbound's Conversion' with Shaw's long three-part preface.

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. London Grant Richards (1901) is the accepted true first; the Chicago/New York Herbert S.

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

Later Grant Richards and Constable reprints, and the American Stone printings (e.g., a 1904 Stone issue exists), follow; no book-club issue documented for the 1901 first.

I have a first edition of Three Plays for Puritans — 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.