Is My To the Lighthouse a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Hogarth Press, London, May 1927, in a first impression of 3,000 copies (Kirkpatrick A10)
• Bound in blue cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, with the top edge stained yellow and a paper spine label
• The true first is identified by a blank copyright page with no later impression noted on the verso, and by the presence of the cream dust jacket designed by Woolf's sister Vanessa Bell, showing a lighthouse amid waves printed in pale blue and black
• The original Bell jacket is essential to a complete copy and, being fragile, is now very scarce
• The UK Hogarth first precedes the US Harcourt, Brace edition of the same year

How Hogarth Press marked a first edition

• Crown / Penguin Random House house style: true first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page and carries a full number line whose lowest digit is 1.
• The lowest number in the number line is the decisive signal for the first printing.

Full Hogarth Press 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?

Hogarth Press, London, 1927, first impression of 3,000 copies, is the true first edition. The American Harcourt, Brace 1927 issue is the first US edition and is a resetting; it does not carry the Vanessa Bell Hogarth jacket. The original cream Bell-designed dust jacket is integral to a collectible first.P-032236

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Hogarth impressions are distinguished by an impression statement on the copyright verso; the US edition is told apart by its Harcourt, Brace imprint, its reset text, and the absence of the Bell jacket. No true book-club precedes the 1927 firsts.P-032237

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of To the Lighthouse a first edition?

A first edition of To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (Hogarth Press) is identified by: Hogarth Press, London, May 1927, in a first impression of 3,000 copies (Kirkpatrick A10).

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. Hogarth Press, London, 1927, first impression of 3,000 copies, is the true first edition.

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

Later Hogarth impressions are distinguished by an impression statement on the copyright verso; the US edition is told apart by its Harcourt, Brace imprint, its reset text, and the absence of the Bell jacket. No true book-club precedes the 1927 firsts.

I have a first edition of To the Lighthouse — 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.