Is My Zorba the Greek a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The Greek true first is Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά (Vios kai Politeia tou Alexi Zorba), Dimitrakos, Athens, 1946: octavo, 353 pages, issued in original printed wrappers
• The 1946 Dimitrakos imprint carries the identification; the novel was written on Aegina and completed in 1943
• The first edition in English is John Lehmann, London, 1952, translated by Carl Wildman: a stated first edition / first printing, 311 pages, bound in red cloth-effect paper-covered boards lettered in silver on the spine, with the publisher's topstain (usually faded), in a dust jacket designed by Stein — look for a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap, as clipped flaps are common on this title
• The first American is Simon & Schuster, New York, 1953, using the same Wildman translation, 311 pages, in half grey cloth, with "First Printing" stated on the copyright page

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. 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?

The Greek edition (Dimitrakos, Athens, 1946) precedes every translation and is the true first. Among English editions the London John Lehmann issue of 1952 is the first in English and precedes the Simon & Schuster New York issue of 1953 by a year, so the UK book is the first English-language edition and the US book is a first American only; both are collected. The 1955 Athens Difros printing recorded by the Kazantzakis Museum is a later Greek edition, not a first, and the French Alexis Zorba (1947) is likewise a translation following the Greek.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No contemporary book-club issue of either the 1952 Lehmann or the 1953 Simon & Schuster printing is documented in the sources consulted. The common reprint trap is the volume of later Simon & Schuster printings issued around the 1964 film; because the first American issue states "First Printing" on the copyright page, that statement is the check.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Zorba the Greek a first edition?

A first edition of Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis (Dimitrakos) is identified by: The Greek true first is Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά (Vios kai Politeia tou Alexi Zorba), Dimitrakos, Athens, 1946: octavo, 353 pages, issued in original printed wrappers.

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 Greek edition (Dimitrakos, Athens, 1946) precedes every translation and is the true first.

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

No contemporary book-club issue of either the 1952 Lehmann or the 1953 Simon & Schuster printing is documented in the sources consulted. The common reprint trap is the volume of later Simon & Schuster printings issued around the 1964 film; because the first American issue states "First Printing" on the copyright page, that statement is the check.

I have a first edition of Zorba the Greek — 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.