Is My Women in Love a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the privately printed subscribers' edition (Thomas Seltzer, New York, dated 1920), issued 9 November 1920 in a limitation of 1,250 numbered copies, available only to subscribers because of the controversy surrounding Lawrence's earlier The Rainbow
• Bound in blue cloth; the numbered limitation statement appears in the front matter
• A small number of copies (about twenty-five, apparently distributed at random) were additionally signed by Lawrence; most of the 1,250 are numbered only and not signed

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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 privately printed Seltzer New York 1920 limited edition (1,250 numbered copies) is the true first and precedes the first UK trade edition, Martin Secker, London, 1921, by roughly seven months. Only a handful of the 1,250 carry Lawrence's signature; a numbered-but-unsigned copy is still a copy of the genuine first.P-005421

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The Secker UK trade edition and all later reprints are unlimited and lack the numbered limitation leaf; the presence of the numbered 1,250-copy limitation statement in blue cloth confirms the 1920 Seltzer private first.P-005422

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Women in Love a first edition?

A first edition of Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence (Privately printed) is identified by: The true first is the privately printed subscribers' edition (Thomas Seltzer, New York, dated 1920), issued 9 November 1920 in a limitation of 1,250 numbered copies, available only to subscribers because of the controversy surrounding Lawrence's earlier The Rainbow.

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 privately printed Seltzer New York 1920 limited edition (1,250 numbered copies) is the true first and precedes the first UK trade edition, Martin Secker, London, 1921, by roughly seven months.

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

The Secker UK trade edition and all later reprints are unlimited and lack the numbered limitation leaf; the presence of the numbered 1,250-copy limitation statement in blue cloth confirms the 1920 Seltzer private first.

I have a first edition of Women in Love — 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.