# Is "Watership Down" by Richard Adams a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Watership Down by Richard Adams (Rex Collings, 1972) is identified by: Rex Collings Ltd, London, November 1972 — the author's first novel, issued by a small one-man firm after rejections elsewhere. Census claim confirmed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Rex Collings Ltd, London, November 1972 — the author's first novel, issued by a small one-man firm after rejections elsewhere
- Bound in pale brown cloth-covered boards, lettered in gilt on the spine, with a gilt rabbit vignette to the front board (dealers describe it variously as a rabbit or a pair of rabbits)
- The folding map at the rear must be present — the trade treats it as 'all-important' and it is frequently lacking or supplied from another copy
- The copyright page carries the Rex Collings Ltd 1972 notice, with the date matching the title page, and the printer's imprint is reported as 'Printed in Great Britain by Bristol Typesetting Co., Ltd., Barton Manor, St
- Philips, Bristol'
- Later Collings impressions and editions are dated accordingly on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Rex Collings

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Richard Adams |
| Publisher | Rex Collings |
| Year | 1972 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Rex Collings Ltd, London, November 1972 — the author's first novel, issued by a small one-man firm after rejections elsewhere |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Rex Collings Ltd, London, November 1972 — the author's first novel, issued by a small one-man firm after rejections elsewhere. Bound in pale brown cloth-covered boards, lettered in gilt on the spine, with a gilt rabbit vignette to the front board (dealers describe it variously as a rabbit or a pair of rabbits). The folding map at the rear must be present — the trade treats it as 'all-important' and it is frequently lacking or supplied from another copy. The copyright page carries the Rex Collings Ltd 1972 notice, with the date matching the title page, and the printer's imprint is reported as 'Printed in Great Britain by Bristol Typesetting Co., Ltd., Barton Manor, St. Philips, Bristol'. Later Collings impressions and editions are dated accordingly on the copyright page. On a first-state example the jacket is unclipped with the price present at the front flap. The first printing is commonly reported at 2,500 copies, making it one of the genuine modern rarities.

## Is this the true first?
Census claim confirmed. Rex Collings, London 1972 is the true first, preceding the first American edition (Macmillan, New York, 1974) — both are collected, but only the Collings is the first. The American edition is the standing trap on this title: it carries only the 1972 UK copyright date and no title-page date, so it is repeatedly catalogued and sold as 'the 1972 first' (some reference databases even file it under 1972 for this reason). Identify a genuine Macmillan first American printing by the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page and by a jacket back panel carrying British reviews only — later printings add American reviews alongside them — with the price present at the front flap.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later-issue tells: subsequent Rex Collings printings and editions carry a later date on the copyright page rather than 1972. For the American edition, the first-vs-later printing tell is the jacket back panel (British reviews only on the first printing; British and American on later ones). First-thus traps that are not firsts: the 1976 Paradine Press edition illustrated by John Lawrence (the first illustrated edition, also issued in a signed limited state) and the Puffin/Penguin paperbacks. No book-club edition tell is documented in the sources consulted.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Watership Down* by Richard Adams a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/watership-down
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.