Is My Wodwo a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first impression, Faber and Faber, London, 1967
• 8vo, in three parts — poems, five short stories and a radio play
• Bound in a red cloth spine lettered in gilt with grey/sage printed cloth sides, in dust jacket; the jacket should be present and priced (price present at the flap)
• Faber practice fixes the impression: before 1968 the year on the copyright page is set in Roman numerals, so the first impression reads 'First published in mcmlxvii by Faber and Faber Limited', and Faber notes subsequent printings on the copyright page — any added impression line denotes a reprint
• One dealer records a print run of 3,000 copies; that figure rests on a single source and is uncorroborated

How Faber and Faber, London marked a first edition

• First printings state "First published in [Year]" (often "First published in mcmxxxx") on the copyright/verso page, with no list of later impressions
• 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 is the true first: Faber and Faber, London, 1967. The first American edition — Harper & Row, New York, 1967 — followed within the same year and is bound quite differently: half blue cloth over brown paper boards, silver decoration to the front board and silver lettering to the spine, collating [6], 7-184, [8] pp. Imprint and binding are the quickest separators. The census note giving a May 1967 UK date could not be confirmed; inscribed copies dated 8 June and 13 July 1967 are consistent with a mid-1967 UK publication, but the exact month is undocumented in the sources consulted.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue documented. The common trap is the Harper & Row 1967 American edition offered as 'the 1967 first edition' — same year, but later. Faber's own later impressions are identified by the added impression statement on the copyright page; the Roman-numeral 'mcmlxvii' alone does not prove a first impression if a reprint line is also present.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Wodwo a first edition?

A first edition of Wodwo by Ted Hughes (Faber and Faber, London) is identified by: First edition, first impression, Faber and Faber, London, 1967.

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 is the true first: Faber and Faber, London, 1967.

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

No book-club issue documented. The common trap is the Harper & Row 1967 American edition offered as 'the 1967 first edition' — same year, but later. Faber's own later impressions are identified by the added impression statement on the copyright page; the Roman-numeral 'mcmlxvii' alone does not prove a first impression if a reprint line is also present.

I have a first edition of Wodwo — 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.