Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 22 Oct 2026.
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Oxford University Press first published the book in 1994 as a hardback with a New York and Oxford imprint (ISBN 0 19 508514 0, xvi, 359 pages); BNB lists it too, but as a New York-led co-issue it is the American first. The first edition with an Oxford imprint is the OUP paperback, ISBN 0 19 286189 1, xvi, 359 pages, which BNB dates 1994 though several catalogues and sellers give 1995. For a UK first look for that ISBN, the Oxford imprint and no later printing line. Collectors of the true first want the 0 19 508514 0 hardback in jacket; later printings of it exist, so check for a full number line down to 1.
OUP did not say "First edition" on its books for most of the twentieth century. You identify a first by the absence of any record of later printings, not by a positive statement. Clarendon Press is OUP's own imprint, named after its Oxford building, so a Clarendon Press book is still an OUP publication.
Read the full guide to Oxford University Press first editions, decade by decade, and check your copy's copyright page against it. Our number line decoder reads the printing from the row of numbers.
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.
Oxford University Press, Oxford, in 1994, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 22 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
For most books published since the 1920s, the original dust jacket carries a large share of the value, often most …
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 …
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