Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 3 Nov 2026.
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The Prophet was first published in New York by Alfred A. Knopf in 1923. The first British edition is William Heinemann, London, 1926: [viii] and 118 pages with twelve illustrations from Gibran's own drawings (a frontispiece and eleven plates), bound in purple cloth that commonly fades to a sandy grey. Heinemann issued a second impression in 1927, so a copy dated 1927 or marked as a later impression is not the first. Heinemann reset the text in 1964; that and later editions are reprints.
A Heinemann first printing normally carries a "First published (year)" line on the back of the title page and no later impression or edition listed under it. Heinemann recorded reprints and new editions in that same place.
How to read it
Read the full guide to William Heinemann 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.
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William Heinemann, London, in 1926, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 3 November 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 …
Read the guide →