Is My Under Milk Wood a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first impression: octavo, pp. ix + 101, in the publisher's brown cloth lettered in gilt at the spine, with the preface and musical settings by Daniel Jones
• The copyright page reads "First published 1954" with no impression line added; the play reprinted immediately and copies stating the second, third and fourth impressions of the first edition circulate freely — a listing that says "first edition" and also names an impression number is a reprint
• The jacket should be present and unclipped, with the price still at the front flap
• Thomas died in November 1953 and the manuscript was delivered to Dent shortly before his death, so this is a posthumous first

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 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?

The Dent (London) 1954 issue is the true first book publication and precedes New Directions (New York), 1954, which the trade uniformly describes as the first American edition. Both editions are collected — the Dent as the first, the New Directions as the first American — but only Dent is the true first. Sources disagree on the exact month of the Dent issue (February is the most repeated date; at least one dealer says July), so no month should be relied on for identification. Earlier magazine appearances of the text were abridged and are not book editions.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented for the 1954 issue. The reprint tells are Dent's own impression statements on the copyright page, and the later Dent/Everyman and New Directions paperback reissues, which are still in print and are "first thus" at best.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Under Milk Wood a first edition?

A first edition of Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas (J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd, London) is identified by: First edition, first impression: octavo, pp.

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 Dent (London) 1954 issue is the true first book publication and precedes New Directions (New York), 1954, which the trade uniformly describes as the first American edition.

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

No book-club edition documented for the 1954 issue. The reprint tells are Dent's own impression statements on the copyright page, and the later Dent/Everyman and New Directions paperback reissues, which are still in print and are "first thus" at best.

I have a first edition of Under Milk Wood — 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.