Is My Winesburg, Ohio a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first issue: B. W. Huebsch, New York, 1919
• The census note conflated the points and is corrected here — there are four, and they are distinct
• A map of Winesburg, drawn by Harald Toksvig, printed on the front pastedown/endpaper
• The right frame line of the title page is unbroken
• Page 86, line 5 reads 'lay' for 'lie' ('an intense silence seemed to lay over everything')
• The word 'the' at page 251, line 3 shows broken type

How B. W. Huebsch marked a first edition

• c.1902–1925: First printings show the SAME date on the title page as on the copyright page with no additional printings listed; any later-printing line, or a title-page date later than the copyright date, indicates a rep…

Full B. W. Huebsch 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 US 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?

US B. W. Huebsch, New York, 1919 is the true first; the census claim is confirmed on precedence. The first English edition was Jonathan Cape, London, 1922 — described in orange cloth with a white paper spine label and orange-yellow topstain, retaining the Toksvig map on the pastedown. The Cape issue is the first English edition only and does not compete for precedence; its own internal points are not established in the sources consulted here.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The controlling check is the p.86 'lay' reading together with the unbroken title-page frame line and the broken 'the' at p.251 — later Huebsch printings and all subsequent reprints correct these. Modern Library, Viking/Penguin, and Norton critical editions are 'first thus' traps. No book-club issue of the 1919 Huebsch printing is documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Winesburg, Ohio a first edition?

A first edition of Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson (B. W. Huebsch) is identified by: First edition, first issue: B.

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. US B.

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

The controlling check is the p.86 'lay' reading together with the unbroken title-page frame line and the broken 'the' at p.251 — later Huebsch printings and all subsequent reprints correct these. Modern Library, Viking/Penguin, and Norton critical editions are 'first thus' traps. No book-club issue of the 1919 Huebsch printing is documented in the sources consulted.

I have a first edition of Winesburg, Ohio — 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.