How to identify a first printing
- 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 reprint.
- A seven-branched menorah device appears as a Huebsch house mark; treat it as a publisher identifier, not by itself a first-printing point.
- Caveat: some Huebsch titles were issued from imported British sheets (e.g., Joyce's 'Dubliners,' 1916, from Grant Richards sheets), so for those the British printing points and the bibliographic record govern, not a U.S. number line.
Notable points & cautions
- Founded c.1900–1902 by Benjamin W. Huebsch; a pioneering modernist publisher.
- First U.S. publisher of James Joyce's 'Dubliners' and 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' (1916), D. H. Lawrence's 'Sons and Lovers' (1913), and Sherwood Anderson's 'Winesburg, Ohio' (1919).
- Merged into the newly formed Viking Press in 1925; Huebsch became an editor and vice-president at Viking, and post-1925 titles carry the Viking imprint.
- The 1925 Viking absorption is the firm's terminal date — a 'B. W. Huebsch' imprint dates a book to before that merger.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my B. W. Huebsch book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. 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 reprint. A seven-branched menorah device appears as a Huebsch house mark; treat it as a publisher identifier, not by itself a first-printing point.
Does B. W. Huebsch use a number line?
A seven-branched menorah device appears as a Huebsch house mark; treat it as a publisher identifier, not by itself a first-printing point.
Is a book-club edition a B. W. Huebsch first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Founded c.1900–1902 by Benjamin W. Huebsch; a pioneering modernist publisher.
What era does this cover?
This covers B. W. Huebsch (1900–1925 (absorbed by Viking Press)). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.