Kingsley Amis First Editions

• Lucky Jim — 1954 · Victor GollanczMostly accurate, but the jacket lettering colors are wrong and one date nuance should be corrected. CORRECTED POINTS OF ISSUE (true first edition): (1) Publisher Victor Gollancz, London. Title page dated 1953, although the book was actually published January 1954. The true first impression bears "1953" on the title page; the claim's "1954" is the publication year, not the printed date. (2) Amis's first novel —…. Gollancz London 1954 is the true first; Doubleday New York 1954 is the first US. The bright yellow Gollancz typographic jacket is the recognizable feature. Later impressions stated on verso; US edition has pictorial jacket and different imprint. Book club editions lack the Gollancz yellow jacket.
• That Uncertain Feeling — 1955 · Victor GollanczAmis's second novel, following Lucky Jim. The true first is Victor Gollancz, London, 1955: octavo, red cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, half-title present, 254 pp. Gollancz used no number line, so a first impression shows only 'First published 1955' on the verso with no additional impression line; a second impression, also dated 1955, exists and is the common trap. The original dust jacket is the typographic…. UK Victor Gollancz (London) 1955 is the true first. The first American edition followed from Harcourt, Brace (New York) in 1956 — a later, separately collected issue with no priority. Distinguish later Gollancz impressions (dated 1955 but stating 'Second impression') and any Reprint Society/World Books or later paperback issues, which are reprints, not the first.
• Take a Girl Like You — 1960 · Victor GollanczThe true first is Victor Gollancz, London, 1960: octavo, publisher's salmon (pink) cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, 320 pp. A first impression states only 'First published 1960' on the verso with no later-impression line; the novel sold well and same-year impressions up to a fourth exist, so confirm there is no 'Second/Third/Fourth impression' statement. The original dust jacket is yellow paper printed in…. UK Victor Gollancz (London) 1960 is the true first; the first American edition followed from Harcourt, Brace (New York) in 1961 and does not have priority. Later 1960 Gollancz impressions and any Reprint Society/World Books book-club issue are reprints; a genuine first shows no impression statement beyond 'First published 1960.'.
• The Anti-Death League — 1966 · Victor GollanczThe true first is Victor Gollancz, London, 1966: octavo, 352 pp, cloth lettered in gilt on the spine. Dealer descriptions of the cloth colour vary (reported both as olive-brown and as green), so treat cloth shade as secondary to the printing statement — a first impression shows only 'First published 1966' on the verso with no later-impression line (no number line). The distinctive original dust jacket is a…. UK Victor Gollancz (London) 1966 is the true first. The first American edition, Harcourt, Brace & World (New York), also appeared in 1966; it is a separately collected same-year issue, but the British printing holds priority. The 1972 New Fiction Society printing is a later Gollancz impression, not the first, despite often being signed; the US Ballantine paperback (1967) is a later reprint.
• Colonel Sun (as Robert Markham) — 1968 · Jonathan CapeThe first James Bond continuation novel after Ian Fleming's death, published pseudonymously as by 'Robert Markham' (Kingsley Amis). The true first is Jonathan Cape, London, 1968: original full black cloth with gilt spine lettering, 255 pp, the copyright leaf carrying the Cape 'First published 1968' statement with no later-printing line. The original dust jacket is illustrated by Tom Adams, with the price present…. UK Jonathan Cape (London), March 1968, is the true first. Harper & Row (New York) issued the first American edition the same year, 1968 (quarter black cloth over yellow boards); it is separately collected but does not have priority. Both appear under the 'Robert Markham' pseudonym. Later book-club and paperback reprints exist; a Cape first shows 'First published 1968' with no book-club or reprint statement and retains the priced Tom Adams jacket.
• The Green Man — 1969 · Jonathan Cape, LondonCape states 'First published 1969' (the house also uses the form 'First published in Great Britain 1969') on the copyright page of the first impression and notes subsequent printings in the same place, so a first is identified by that statement with no reprint line added beneath it (Quill & Brush publisher guide). Collated octavo, 253 pp., in the publisher's blue cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, with the top…. The true first is the UK Jonathan Cape edition, London, 1969. The first American edition followed from Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, in 1970 — a full year later, in a jacket designed by Paul Bacon — so it is a first American edition only, not a co-first or simultaneous issue; the census note is correct. Collectors seeking the first edition want the Cape; the Harcourt is collected as the first US appearance. No book-club issue of the Cape first is documented in the sources consulted. The reprint tell is positive rather than negative for this publisher: a Cape copy whose copyright page carries a 'Second impression' or later reprint line beneath the 'First published 1969' statement is a later printing.
• The Alteration — 1976 · Jonathan CapeAlternative-history novel; winner of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award (1977). The true first is Jonathan Cape, London, 1976: light-green cloth boards with gilt spine lettering and the top edge stained/sprayed green, 208 pp, ISBN 0-224-01305-5, the copyright leaf carrying 'First published 1976' with no later-printing line. The original dust jacket is illustrated by Tom Adams, with the price present at the front…. UK Jonathan Cape (London) 1976 is the true first; the first American edition followed from Viking Press (New York) in 1977 and does not have priority. Watch for later book-club reprints (no printed jacket price, a blindstamp to the rear board, 'Book Club Edition' at the jacket flap); the Cape first retains the priced Tom Adams jacket and shows 'First published 1976.'.
• The Old Devils — 1986 · HutchinsonFirst UK edition, Hutchinson, London, 1986. 'First published 1986' on the verso of the title page with no later printings indicated. Original boards in dust jacket with its printed price on the front flap. Won the 1986 Booker Prize. The UK Hutchinson edition is the true first; the US edition (Summit Books) appeared in 1987. US Summit edition is later and US-priced. No prominent book-club edition affects the true first. A separately bound signed London Limited Editions issue exists but is a distinct limited issue, not the trade first.

More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: Kurt Vonnegut, Larry Brown, Larry Niven, Lawrence Durrell, Lee Smith, Leigh Brackett.

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