Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 28 Oct 2026.
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We value a printing from verified sales of that exact printing, and none of the first impression has come to auction in our records so far. The chart and the value by condition appear here as soon as one does.
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A true first: John Lane The Bodley Head published the novel in London in 1945, subtitled A Modern Fairy-Tale for Grown-Ups. Macmillan's New York edition followed in 1946, and Lewis's abridged text later appeared as a Pan paperback in Britain and as The Tortured Planet in America; none of these is the first. The first impression is bound in black cloth with gilt spine lettering and printed on cheap wartime paper that is now fragile. Copies are often offered without a jacket or with a facsimile jacket.
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.
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Bodley Head, London, in 1945, 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.
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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