What is a first edition? Precise definition

You may have found a copy of Rimbaud's Une Saison en enfer dated 1873 in a book box or at a flea market. Is it the first edition? The answer is far from automatic: nowhere on the cover is the magic phrase "original edition" to be found. And for good reason, it has never appeared there.

In the antique book market, the distinction is quantifiable. A copy of Cyrano de Bergerac marked "298th thousand" can be found for a few tens of euros; the "unmentioned" original, in good condition, commonly exceeds a thousand. For Une Saison en enfer, the difference between a counterfeit and the original Poot can be tens of thousands of euros. This is why the vocabulary needs to be precisely defined.

What is an original edition?

The SLAM definition is strict: an original edition is the first printed edition of a text under its title, published with the author's consent (Anne Lamort, La bibliophilie: tout ce que vous avez toujours voulu savoir sans jamais avoir osé le demander, SLAM, 2021. Source: www.slamlivrerare.org). Three conditions therefore: first printing, definitive title, author's consent. Remove one, and the term no longer applies.

Pierre Dauze, in his Manuel de l'amateur d'éditions originales (digitized on Gallica), posed the question differently: according to him, if an edition was published without the author's knowledge, it is nevertheless, for the bibliographer, the earliest edition. This is accurate from a strict bibliographical standpoint. But contemporary professional usage, codified by SLAM, retains the criterion of consent. This definition prevails in bookstore catalogs.

Original edition and princeps edition: two distinct concepts

When the text in question was written before the invention of printing, we speak of a princeps edition. The works of Cicero, Virgil, or Aristotle circulated in manuscript for centuries before Gutenberg and his successors put them to press. As Anne Lamort states: "We speak of a princeps edition for Cicero, not for Proust." An incunabulum can therefore be a princeps edition; in fact, this is often the case for major ancient texts.

Préfaçon, pre-original, counterfeit, issue: four concepts not to be confused

Bibliophile vocabulary is precise. Each concept has its use, like the terms of a contract.

The préfaçon

19th-century Brussels publishers were masters in the art of appropriating texts by French authors. Informed before the manuscripts went on sale, they reproduced and marketed the texts before the French edition. Alexandre Dumas was one of their favorite victims: Les Trois Mousquetaires appeared as early as 1844 in Brussels at Lebègue et Sacré fils, one year before the Parisian original published by Baudry. The préfaçon is therefore earlier in date, but not in status: SLAM is very clear on this point. Bibliophiles have always placed more value on the original, even though it was published later.

The pre-original

The pre-original is the publication of a text in a review before its appearance in volume form. Eighteen poems from Baudelaire's Fleurs du Mal appeared in the Revue des Deux-Mondes in June 1855, two years before the collection that Michel Lévy put on sale in 1857: that is the original edition. Zola illustrates this phenomenon even better: almost all of the Rougon-Macquart series first appeared in serial form. These installments are pre-originals. The original edition is the one Charpentier put on sale in bookstores. See our collection dedicated to Émile Zola

The counterfeit

A counterfeit is a pirated edition, without the consent of the author or the legitimate publisher, often without mentioning the real printer. Clues exist, but some counterfeits have deceived even the most knowledgeable bibliophiles.

The Latude affair provides a striking example: in 1787, this famous prisoner published his Mémoires. The success was immediate, and counterfeits quickly seized upon it. In a letter addressed to the Keeper of the Seals, he denounced a printer who had reproduced his text without authorization and sold several thousand copies clandestinely throughout the Kingdom, in defiance, he wrote, of "35 years of tears."

The issue

An issue refers to copies from the same printing run put on sale at different times, sometimes with a new title page or a change in bibliographic address. Anne Lamort cites the case of Lautréamont's Chants de Maldoror, printed in 1869: an initial batch was put on sale that year, but due to lack of success, the rest were not re-released until 1874 with a modified title page. A single printing, two issues. The second is much more common; the first, infinitely rarer. Identifying the issue means determining, among several seemingly identical copies, which is the oldest, and therefore the most desirable.

Material criteria: what to look at first

Format and edition statements

Most 19th and 20th-century literary first editions are printed in octavo (in-8), meaning a format between 20 and 25 cm. A significantly larger or smaller copy deserves to be questioned. The mention "deuxième édition" (second edition) or "224e mille" (224th thousand) on the back of a Gallimard does not imply that the first edition should have carried the mention "première édition" (first edition). The absence of numbering is, paradoxically, a positive sign.

Collation: the bibliophile's tool

Checking the collation of a book means ensuring its completeness and, for a first edition, its conformity to its original state. Everything must be checked: number of numbered pages, unnumbered leaves, any frontispiece, presence or absence of a publisher's catalog.

This verification, instinctive for an experienced bookseller, is the only way to detect a good copy. The original edition of Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal (1857, Michel Lévy) illustrates this perfectly. Condemned to cut six pieces from his collection, Baudelaire saw the stock split into two: copies complete with the condemned pieces, and the others. Collation here makes all the difference.

Another example: the original of Céline's Mort à crédit (Denoël, 1936). Certain passages deemed unacceptable by the publisher were replaced by blanks, despite the author's opposition. Only 117 hors commerce copies escaped this censorship and provided the complete text. The original edition therefore exists in two distinct states: the expurgated copies, printed as ordinary, and the 117 unexpurgated, hors commerce copies.

We have a highly pure copy of the expurgated version of this seminal novel. See our copy of Mort à crédit

Typos: errors that authenticate

In some cases, typographical errors have become official identification criteria. The original edition of Flaubert's Madame Bovary (Michel Lévy, 1857) appeared with an error on the dedication leaf: the name of the lawyer Sénard was spelled "Sénart." It is this typo that distinguishes the first printing from all subsequent ones and ironically becomes a guarantee of authenticity.

The bibliomaniac Robert Pons de Verdun understood this as early as 1807, in his Loisirs: he versified the joy of recognizing the good edition by its two characteristic misprints, absent from the bad one.

Fine paper, justification of printing

The justification of printing, a leaf often placed at the beginning of the volume, indicates the number of copies printed on a specific type of so-called "fine paper": China, Japan, Holland, pure laid. These copies constitute the deluxe edition.

The copies from the ordinary print run are nevertheless originals: other material criteria allow for their identification, notably the printer's colophon. In a professional catalog, the absence of the mention "édition originale" (original edition) is never an oversight. It is information. When we do not mention it, it means the book is not one.

KOEGUI bookstore's insight: Failing fine paper, the first printing is what matters. For Balzac's La Peau de chagrin (1831), the "skeleton" vignette is authentic.

Do you think you have identified an original edition? Librairie KOEGUI can confirm your identification and estimate the value of your copy. Request an appraisal

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an original edition and a princeps edition?

A princeps edition is the first printing of a text written before the invention of printing. We speak of a princeps edition for Cicero or Virgil, never for Flaubert. For modern texts: an original edition is the first publication with the author's consent under its definitive title.

Is a préfaçon an original edition?

No. A préfaçon is an unauthorized printing of a text. It may be earlier in date, but it does not have the status of an original edition.

How to know if an original edition is complete?

By collation: check the pagination, count the leaves and figures. Each field has its reference work, Vicaire for Romantics, Carteret for the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The BnF provides its bibliographic records for works held. An incomplete copy is worth significantly less, even if it is an original.

What does the absence of the mention "original edition" in a professional catalog mean?

It means the book is not one. In a reputable catalog, this absence is never an oversight.

Is this concept old?

No. The term "original edition" in its modern bibliophile sense only appears in sales catalogs from 1841 onwards. Before the 18th century, collectors sought the best edition, not the first.

 

Sources

• Anne Lamort, La bibliophilie: tout ce que vous avez toujours voulu savoir sans jamais avoir osé le demander, SLAM, 2013/2021. Source: www.slamlivrerare.org
• Pierre Dauze, Manuel de l'amateur d'éditions originales, Gallica/BnF.
• BnF, Éditions princeps et éditions originales. bnf.fr
• Gabriel Vicaire, Manuel de l'amateur de livres du XIXe siècle, 1894 (Internet Archive).

Further reading

• View our 19th-century original editions in stock
• View our 20th-century original editions in stock
• Read also: How to estimate the value of a rare book?