Is My Wintering Out a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first impression, Faber and Faber, London, 1972 — issued as a paperback original in publisher's stiff printed wrappers (blue, grey, black and white, lettered in black, with French flaps), pp
• This wrappered issue is the true first; no 1972 hardback was issued simultaneously, and the hardback did not appear until 1973
• Faber's post-1968 practice sets the year on the copyright page in Arabic numerals ('First published in 1972 by Faber and Faber Limited') and notes subsequent impressions there, so any impression line denotes a reprint
• One dealer records 2,500 copies of the wrappered issue; that figure rests on a single source and is uncorroborated
• An uncorrected proof is recorded as preceding all published copies, in wrappers or boards, UK or American

How Faber and Faber, London marked a first edition

• Prior to 1968 the year was set in ROMAN NUMERALS (e.g. 'First published in mcmliv'); from 1968 onward Arabic numerals were used — a key dating tell

Full Faber and Faber, London 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 UK 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?

UK true first — but not as the census states. CORRECTION: the priority copy is the Faber wrappered paperback original of 1972, not a Faber hardback; the census note omits this and implies a conventional hardback first. Faber's hardback followed in 1973. The first American edition is Oxford University Press, New York, 1973, in turquoise cloth-effect boards with gilt spine lettering, in dust jacket; one dealer records 500 copies. The Faber 1973 hardback and the OUP 1973 American edition are both collected as first hardcover appearances, but neither has priority over the 1972 wrappers.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue documented. The dominant trap is a 1973 hardback — Faber or Oxford University Press — described as 'the first edition'; both are a year later than the wrappered original, and Ulysses Rare Books catalogues a 1973 issue as the second issue. Because the true first is a paperback original, condition tells (spine toning, panel wear, chipping at the spine foot) rather than jacket points govern identification; jackets belong to the 1973 hardbacks only.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Wintering Out a first edition?

A first edition of Wintering Out by Seamus Heaney (Faber and Faber, London) is identified by: First edition, first impression, Faber and Faber, London, 1972 — issued as a paperback original in publisher's stiff printed wrappers (blue, grey, black and white, lettered in black, with French flaps), 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. UK true first — but not as the census states.

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

No book-club issue documented. The dominant trap is a 1973 hardback — Faber or Oxford University Press — described as 'the first edition'; both are a year later than the wrappered original, and Ulysses Rare Books catalogues a 1973 issue as the second issue. Because the true first is a paperback original, condition tells (spine toning, panel wear, chipping at the spine foot) rather than jacket points govern identification; jackets belong to the 1973 hardbacks only.

I have a first edition of Wintering Out — 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.