How to identify a first printing
- Pre-1940s: firsts either carried NO statement or occasionally "First published [Year]" with no additional printings listed
- 1940s onward: consistently state "First published [Year]" on the copyright page of firsts with NO additional impressions listed (later printings add lines)
- First printing = statement present AND clean copyright page with no reprint notations
- Modern era: number line under Random House lineage
Notable points & cautions
- George Orwell's UK publisher from 'Animal Farm' (1945) and 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' (1949) — both have well-documented dust-jacket points (1984: red vs green jacket variants, both issued)
- Also Thomas Mann (English translations), Angus Wilson, Melvyn Bragg
- Martin Secker (pre-merger) and Secker & Warburg should not be conflated
Imprints
First editions also appear under: Martin Secker (predecessor, to 1935), Secker & Warburg, Warburg Press. Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my Secker & Warburg (Martin Secker & Warburg) book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. Pre-1940s: firsts either carried NO statement or occasionally "First published [Year]" with no additional printings listed 1940s onward: consistently state "First published [Year]" on the copyright page of firsts with NO additional impressions listed (later printings add lines)
Does Secker & Warburg (Martin Secker & Warburg) use a number line?
1940s onward: consistently state "First published [Year]" on the copyright page of firsts with NO additional impressions listed (later printings add lines)
Is a book-club edition a Secker & Warburg (Martin Secker & Warburg) first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. George Orwell's UK publisher from 'Animal Farm' (1945) and 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' (1949) — both have well-documented dust-jacket points (1984: red vs green jacket variants, both issued)
What era does this cover?
This covers Secker & Warburg (Martin Secker & Warburg) (1910 (Martin Secker) / 1936-present (Secker & Warburg)). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.
Secker & Warburg (Martin Secker & Warburg) titles with documented first-edition points
Each link opens that title’s specific points of issue — the exact marks that separate a true first printing from a later one.
- Animal Farm (George Orwell, 1945)
- Baudolino (Umberto Eco, 2002)
- Birchwood (John Banville, 1973)
- Critical Essays (George Orwell, 1946)
- Disgrace (J.M. Coetzee, 1999)
- Doctor Copernicus (John Banville, 1976)
- Garden District (Something Unspoken; Suddenly Last Summer) (Tennessee Williams, 1959)
- Homage to Catalonia (George Orwell, 1938)
- How Late It Was, How Late (James Kelman, 1994)
- In the Heart of the Country (J. M. Coetzee, 1977)
- Kepler (John Banville, 1981)
- Long Lankin (John Banville, 1970)
- Nineteen Eighty-Four (George Orwell, 1949)
- Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha (Roddy Doyle, 1993)
- Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays (George Orwell, 1950)
- The Book of Evidence (John Banville, 1989)
- The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius (George Orwell, 1941)
- The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana (Umberto Eco, 2005)
- The Newton Letter (John Banville, 1982)
- The Portable Virgin (Anne Enright, 1991)
- Trainspotting (Irvine Welsh, 1993)
- Waiting for the Barbarians (J. M. Coetzee, 1980)
- Words for the Wind (Theodore Roethke, 1957)