Is My Copy of Rossetti: His Life and Works a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Duckworth (London) 1928 — Waugh's first commercially published book, appearing April 1928, months before Decline and Fall (September 1928)
• The first impression is bound in maroon cloth with gilt spine lettering, in a cream/buff printed dust wrapper, and illustrated with eight monochrome plates; the first-impression verso carries no 'Second/Third impression' notice
• Duckworth reprinted rapidly — a second impression was at press by mid-October 1928 and a third followed in December 1928 from the plates — so a genuine first must lack any later-impression statement

How Duckworth marked a first edition

• Duckworth is NOT separately listed in the standard publisher-by-publisher first-edition guides (verified absent from the QBBooks A–G 'First Edition Identification by Publisher' table), so there is no documented…
• For the interwar/mid-century period (the Anthony Powell era: Afternoon Men 1931, Venusberg 1932, From a View to a Death 1933, Agents and Patients 1936) the first edition is normally shown on the copyright/verso page by…

Full Duckworth first-edition guide →

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?

UK Duckworth (London) 1928 is the true first; the Dodd, Mead (New York) 1928 issue is the American edition, produced for the US market around the centenary of Rossetti's birth. Note the 'first book' trap: Rossetti is Waugh's first commercially published (and first full-length) book, but he was preceded in print by privately printed items, notably his Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood essay (1926, an edition of about fifty copies).P-045082

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Second impression (October 1928) and third impression (December 1928, from the plates) exist; only the un-noted first impression is the first printing. Dodd, Mead 1928 is the American issue, not a book club.P-045083

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Rossetti: His Life and Works a first edition?

A first edition of Rossetti: His Life and Works by Evelyn Waugh (Duckworth) is identified by: Duckworth (London) 1928 — Waugh's first commercially published book, appearing April 1928, months before Decline and Fall (September 1928).

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. UK Duckworth (London) 1928 is the true first; the Dodd, Mead (New York) 1928 issue is the American edition, produced for the US market around the centenary of Rossetti's birth.

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

Second impression (October 1928) and third impression (December 1928, from the plates) exist; only the un-noted first impression is the first printing. Dodd, Mead 1928 is the American issue, not a book club.

I have a first edition of Rossetti: His Life and Works — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.