Is My Copy of Titus Groan a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing was 2,000 copies (Peake in Print A4a), which sold quickly enough that a second impression followed within the same year
• Page [1] reads 'THE LIFE OF TITUS GROAN'
• The title page carries a vignette (22 x 47mm) of a crown — the same crown used on the jacket, but with the chains in different positions and the bird looking right
• The half-title at p.[15] reads 'Part One / GORMENGHAST' above the quotation from Bunyan's verse Apology prefacing Pilgrim's Progress
• The first issue is bound in bright red cloth of FINE linen grain, 220 x 140mm, lettered in gilt across the spine; the second impression is a coarser-grained scarlet-vermilion in the same format, so grain — not colour alone — is the binding test
• The jacket is by Peake, lettered in red on the front panel and in black across the spine

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. Verify this is the UK 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?

The true first is Eyre & Spottiswoode, London, March 1946 (UK reviews run from 22 March 1946). The Reynal & Hitchcock, New York edition of the same year does not precede it — Peake in Print designates it 'Second edition; first American' (A4b). Both editions are collected. The US edition is readily distinguished: greeny-grey cloth 215 x 143mm lettered in red across the spine; title page reading 'Titus / Groan / a gothic novel by / Mervyn / Peake' — the 'a gothic novel' subtitle is US-only; copyright notice on the title verso naming 'Mervyn Laurence Peake'; the E&S 'Part One: Gormenghast' leaf omitted in favour of a dedication 'For / Maeve' on p.[v], with the Bunyan quotation moved after the contents; a wholly different Peake jacket with a Graham Greene blurb on the front flap and a Derek Sayer photograph of Peake on the back.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The principal later-issue tell is the 1946 second impression: coarse-grained cloth in place of the first issue's fine linen grain, and a jacket front flap on which review extracts and a 'Second impression' statement replace the original blurb. First-thus traps: Weybright & Talley, New York 1967 (A4c, dark blue cloth 233 x 152mm) adds the series line 'The Gormenghast Trilogy: Volume One' and wears a Bob Pepper jacket forming one panel of a three-volume triptych; the Ballantine 1968 paperback continues that triptych. No book-club edition is documented for the 1946 first in the sources consulted.P-038747

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Titus Groan a first edition?

A first edition of Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake (Eyre & Spottiswoode) is identified by: First printing was 2,000 copies (Peake in Print A4a), which sold quickly enough that a second impression followed within the same year.

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 true first is Eyre & Spottiswoode, London, March 1946 (UK reviews run from 22 March 1946).

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

The principal later-issue tell is the 1946 second impression: coarse-grained cloth in place of the first issue's fine linen grain, and a jacket front flap on which review extracts and a 'Second impression' statement replace the original blurb.

I have a first edition of Titus Groan — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.