Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 28 Oct 2026.
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Hamsun's Sult was first published in Norwegian in 1890. The first edition published in Britain, and the first in English, is Leonard Smithers and Co., London, 1899, translated by George Egerton (pen name of Mary Dunne). Most surviving copies are in the publisher's binding; an ABAA dealer reports that copies in the original wrappers are very rare. Check the title page for the Smithers imprint and the 1899 date. Later Knopf printings of the Egerton translation in the United States, from the sixth printing of May 1921, were cut, so they are neither the first nor the full text.
We have not yet confirmed the issue points that tell this first impression from later ones. Until we do, compare your copy's title page and copyright page with the publisher, place and year above: any later printing or edition statement means it is not this one.
Know the points? Tell us. We publish them, with credit, once a second source agrees.
L. Smithers, London, England, in 1899, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 28 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
Points of issue are small, documented details, such as a misprint later corrected, a binding colour or a jacket price, …
Read the guide →7 min readTo identify a first edition, check that your copy is the first printing of the first edition. Read the copyright …
Read the guide →6 min readBook condition grading uses a six-step trade scale: Fine, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. Collectors grade the …
Read the guide →