Is My Under the Volcano a First Edition?

The points of issue

• New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1947 — first edition, first printing, published 19 February 1947
• Octavo, 375pp, bound in light grey cloth lettered in crimson on the front panel and the spine
• The jacket is the three-colour contour-map design, and the first printing is signalled on the jacket's rear panel by the header 'Advance critical acclaim' above four blurbs (Kain, Warren, Aiken, Spender)
• Later jackets replace that header with 'Critical Acclaim For A Great Novel', so the rear-panel wording is the working point of issue; the jacket should be unclipped with the price present at the flap
• An uncorrected proof of the Reynal & Hitchcock edition is also recorded in the auction record

How Reynal & Hitchcock marked a first edition

• For books published after 1947, defer to Harcourt, Brace & Co. identification points, since R&H was absorbed by Harcourt in 1948 and later issues of R&H titles carry Harcourt imprints/points.

Full Reynal & Hitchcock 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 British 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 census claim is confirmed, and this is the classic reversed-precedence trap: Lowry was British, but the American Reynal & Hitchcock edition of 19 February 1947 precedes the London Jonathan Cape edition of 1 September 1947 by roughly six months, so the US issue is the true first. The Cape is the first English edition and is collected in its own right; dealer descriptions of its cloth conflict in the sources consulted (grey-green cloth versus pale blue boards), so no binding is asserted for it here. The American edition was hailed and sold strongly in North America, while the book was poorly received in Britain and soon remaindered.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The reliable reprint tell is the jacket rear panel: 'Critical Acclaim For A Great Novel' in place of 'Advance critical acclaim' marks a later issue, and a map-jacket alone proves nothing. No book-club-specific tells for this title were documented in the sources consulted. Later Cape, Vintage and Penguin reprints and the Suntup fine-press edition are 'first thus' at best.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Under the Volcano a first edition?

A first edition of Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry (Reynal & Hitchcock) is identified by: New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1947 — first edition, first printing, published 19 February 1947.

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 census claim is confirmed, and this is the classic reversed-precedence trap: Lowry was British, but the American Reynal & Hitchcock edition of 19 February 1947 precedes the London Jonathan Cape edition of 1 September 1947 by roughly six months, so the US issue is the true first.

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

The reliable reprint tell is the jacket rear panel: 'Critical Acclaim For A Great Novel' in place of 'Advance critical acclaim' marks a later issue, and a map-jacket alone proves nothing. No book-club-specific tells for this title were documented in the sources consulted. Later Cape, Vintage and Penguin reprints and the Suntup fine-press edition are 'first thus' at best.

I have a first edition of Under the Volcano — 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.