Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 20 Oct 2026.
The full price history: every sale, the chart and values by condition.
You have opened your 3 free price histories for today. Members get 10 a day, Pro members unlimited.
Doubleday turned down Bowles's first novel, and it appeared first in London from John Lehmann in 1949 (304 pages), before New Directions issued it in New York in the autumn. The Lehmann hardback is therefore the true first edition, and the New Directions book is the first American edition. Look for the John Lehmann imprint and the 1949 date.
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.
John Lehmann, London, in 1949, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 20 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 …
Read the guide →