Is My Copy of Season of Migration to the North a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The Arabic true first, Mawsim al-hijra ila al-shamal, appeared first serially in the Beirut journal Hiwar (issues 5-6, September 1966) and then as a book from Dar al-Awda, Beirut, in 1966
• The first English edition is Season of Migration to the North, translated by Denys Johnson-Davies, Heinemann, London, in the African Writers Series (AWS no
• 66), 1969
• Heinemann issued it both as the standard limp AWS paperback (ISBN 0-435-90630-5, 169 pp) and as a scarcer cased hardback in black paper-covered boards with gilt spine titles in a pictorial dust jacket; the jacketed hardback is the collector's first

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. 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.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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?

Arabic original: journal Hiwar, Beirut, 1966, then Dar al-Awda, Beirut, 1966. First English: Heinemann, London (African Writers Series 66), 1969 (Johnson-Davies) — UK only, with no simultaneous US edition. Later American printings (Three Continents/Lynne Rienner, 1980s; NYRB Classics, 2009) are reprints, so the London Heinemann 1969 is the true first in English.P-045584

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

AWS reprints reuse the same series number/ISBN and are told apart by later printing lines and revised series-cover designs; all US editions postdate 1969. No book-club edition is a recognized issue point.P-045585

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Season of Migration to the North a first edition?

A first edition of Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih (Dar al-Awda, Beirut) is identified by: The Arabic true first, Mawsim al-hijra ila al-shamal, appeared first serially in the Beirut journal Hiwar (issues 5-6, September 1966) and then as a book from Dar al-Awda, Beirut, in 1966.

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. Arabic original: journal Hiwar, Beirut, 1966, then Dar al-Awda, Beirut, 1966.

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

AWS reprints reuse the same series number/ISBN and are told apart by later printing lines and revised series-cover designs; all US editions postdate 1969. No book-club edition is a recognized issue point.

I have a first edition of Season of Migration to the North — 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.