For collectors, you have to keep your eyes on the new and on the old at the same time. In short you have to become a kind of literary Janus-figure in order to best identify what would sit well in your collection.
If you are starting to collect seriously, then what better place to start than by considering the great Classics of American, Victorian and European literature. I am discussing collecting none other than the chronicler of the Jazz Age itself, F Scott FitzGerald and his greatest masterpiece: The Great Gatsby.
Recently Penguin publishers have stated that for their new hardback range they are commissioning a whole new edition of all of F Scott FitzGerald's works, including The Great Gatsby as designed by artist Coralie Bickford-Smith. These elegant hardbacks can be bought for next to nothing currently, but, if kept with their special foil-wrapped dust jackets as well as their bookmarks, then they just might become a collector's item in years to come, a worthy addition if you are looking to hand down your library to the next generation.
On the other hand, we can contrast this 'new' collectible with the original first edition of the Great Gatsby, with its memorable blue dust jacket with the hovering two eyes disappearing into a symbolist-nouveau inspired painting over the New York bay.
The original was first printed by Charles Scribner's and Sons in 1925. The hardcover cloth in in green, and with gold lettering upon the spine. Only 20,870 copies of this first printing were printed, and it was before the age when publishers started to helpfully put 'First Edition' on the covers or the publication notes. The only way to tell if your copy is in fact one of these very rare twenty thousand, is to check whether your book contains the typographical errors that were later corrected by subsequent copy editors.
On page 60, line 16, is the word 'chatter' or 'ecolalia' used? If the former, then the book is undeniably the very first printing. On page 211, line 7-8, is the phrase 'Union Street Station' or just 'Union Station'? Again, the former indicates the very first printing. If you're Gatsby edition is lucky enough to match all of these first issue points, then it is likely worth over tens of thousands of dollars!
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Fie! Fie! Fi-Fi!. John Church Company, Cincinnati, New York and London (1914). A Musical Comedy in Two Acts. Presented by the Princeton University Triangle Club.; Music by D.D. Griffin, A.L.Booth, and P.B. Dickey; Plot and Lyrics by Fitzgerald; Musical Score
Fitzgerald, F.Scott. The Evil Eye. John Church Company, Cincinnati, New York and London (1915). A Musical Comedy in Two Acts. Presented by the Princeton University Triangle Club, 1915-1916.; Book by E. Wilson Jr., music by Paul B. Dickey and F. Warburton Guilbert; Lyrics by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Includes musical score with lyrics
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Safety First!. John Church Company, Cincinnati, New York and London (1916). A musical comedy in two acts; Book by J. F. Bohmfalk and J. Biggs; music by P. B. Dickey, F. Warburton Guilbert, and E. Harris; lyrics by F.Scott Fitzgerald; Princeton University Triangle Club
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Princeton Bric-a-Brac. E. A. Wright Co., Philadelphia (1918). Illustrated from photos and drawings; contains information about F.Scott Fitzgerald's undergraduate career at Princeton
FITZGERALD, F. SCOTT. Flappers and Philosophers. Charles Scribners Sons, New York (1920). Multiple issues; first issue-September 1920; Published September 1920 on copyright page no other printings cited.
FITZGERALD, F. SCOTT. This Side of Paradise. Charles Scribner Sons, New York (1920). Fitzgerald's first novel
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. This Side Of Paradise. W. Collins Sons, London (1921). First UK Edition
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Beautiful and the Damned. Charles Scribners Sons, New York (1922). First Edition; Issues differentiated by date, first in March 1922
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Beautiful and the Damned. W. Collins Sons, London (1922). UK Edition
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Flappers and Philosophers. W. Collins Sons and Co. Ltd., London (1922). First UK Edition
FITZGERALD, F. SCOTT. Tales of The Jazz Age. Charles Scribners Sons, New York (1922). First issue misprint 'an' on page 232; changed to 'and' in subsequent issues; 11 short stories
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Beautiful and Damned. W. Collins Sons and Co. Ltd., London (1922). First UK Edition; differs from the American edition in some 700 readings of which 82 are substantive; also 134 lines are missing in this text.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Tales of the Jazz Age. W. Collins Sons and Co. Ltd., London (1923). First UK Edition; Contains 11 short stories including:The Jelly-Bean,The Camels Back,May Day,Porcelain and Pink,The Diamond as Big as the Ritz,The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,Tarquin of Cheapside,O Russet Witch!,The Lees of Happiness,Mr. Icky,Jemina, the Mountain Girl.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Vegetable. Charles Scribners Sons, New York (1923). or from President to postman; 7650 copies printed.
Fitzgerald, ,F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Charles Scribners Sons, New York (1925). First issue (5 issue points: 60.16 chatter; 199.22 northern; 165.16 its; 205.9-10 sick in tired; 211.7-8 Union Street station).
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. All the Sad Young Men. Charles Scribners and Sons, New York (1926). First Edition of 10,100 copies; first printing is without battered type.
Fitzgerald, F Scott. The Great Gatsby. Chatto and Windus, London (1926). First UK Edition.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Famous Story Publications, New York (1926). First post-publication serialization of The Great Gatsby in a magazine; appeared in 5 issues.
Ryttenberg, Lillie. Samples: A Collection of Short Stories. Boni and Liveright, New York (1927). Compiled for the Community Workers of the New York Guild for the Jewish Blind; First publication of 'The Dance' by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Other contributors: George Ade, Sherwood Anderson, Barry Benefield, Konrad Bercovici, Louis Bromfield, Dorothy Canfield, Willa Cather, Theodore Dreiser, Edna Ferber, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zona Gale, John Galsworthy, Sam Hellman, Ernest Hemingway, Fannie Hurst, Mary Roberts Rinehart, G. B. Stern, Thyra Samter Winslow, Elinor Wylie.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. John Jackson's Arcady. Walter H. Baker, Boston (1928). Arranged by Lilian Holmes Stack
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Tender is the Night. Charles Scribners Sons, New York (1934). Decorations By Edward Shenton; First Edition indicated on copyright page with letter A and date of 1934 on title page; 7600 copies of first printing
Fitzgerald, F Scott. Tender is the Night. Chatto and Windus, London (1934). First UK Edition
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Tender is the Night. Scribners Magazine, New York (1934). Scribners Magazine, Jan-April 1934, Vol. XCV . No. 1-4; First appearance of 'Tender is the Night' as a serialization in Scribners magazine in 4 issues
FITZGERALD, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. The Modern Library, NY (1934).
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Taps at Reveille. Charles Scribners Sons, New York (1935). 5100 copies printed; first state withoh, catch it-oh, catch it on p 351 and pages 349-352 not canceled; Second state with revisions on pages 350-1; first appearance of 'Crazy Sunday' and 'Babylon Revisited'
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Last Tycoon. Charles Scribners Sons, New York (1941).
F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Last Tycoon and Great Gatsby. Charles Scribners Sons, New York (1941). The Last Tycoon. An Unfinished Novel. Together with The Great Gatsby And Selected Short Stories. First Printing with the ScribnersA present on the copyright page. First state dust jacket with $2.75 price
Fitzgerald, F Scott. The Crack-up. New Directions, New York (1945). Edited by Edmund Wilson ; With Other Uncollected Pieces, Note-Books and Unpublished Letters. Together with Letters to Fitzgerald from Gertrude Stein, Edith Wharton, T. S. Eliot, Thomas Wolfe and John Dos Passos. And Essays and Poems by Paul Rosenfeld, Glenway Wescott, John Dos Passos, and John Peale Bishop.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Editions for the Armed Services, New York (1945). Armed Services Edition
Fitzgerald. F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New Directions, New York (1945). Introduction by Lionel Trilling; 'New Classics' Edition
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Portable F. Scott Fitzgerald. Viking Press, New York (1945). Selections by Dorothy Parker; Introduction by John O'Hara; contains complete texts of The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night plus 9 short stories.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Diamond As Big As The Ritz And Other Stories. Armed Services Editions, New York (1946). Armed Services Edition; Introduction by Louis Untermeyer
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Crack-Up. New Directions, New York (1947). Edited by Edmund Wilson; –With Other Uncollected Pieces, Note-Books and Unpublished Letters. Together with Letters to Fitzgerald from Gertrude Stein, Edith Wharton, T. S. Eliot, Thomas Wolfe and John Dos Passos. And Essays and Poems by Paul Rosenfeld, Glenway Wescott, John Dos Passos, and John Peale Bishop. Edited by Edmund Wilson;
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Grey Walls Press, London (1948).
Fitzgerald, F.Scott. The Great Gatsby. Paramount Pictures, Inc., Los Angeles (1948). Adapted for screen by Hume, Cyril, and Richard Maibaum; The final 'White Script' for the first movie production of The Great Gatsby
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. This Side of Paradise.. Grey Walls, London (1948). UK Edition
F Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby. Grey Walls, London (1949). First UK reprint
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Grosset and Dunlap, New York (1949). Photoplay Edition – coincide with the release of the Paramount Pictures film
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Beautiful and Damned. Grey Walls Press, London (1950). First UK reprint
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Borrowed Time. Grey Walls Press, London (1951). Selected by Alan and Jennifer Ross; A collection of short stories
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. That Kind of Party; The Death of My Father. Princeton University Library, New Jersey (1951). The Princeton University Library Chronicle F. Scott Fitzgerald Issue, Vol. XII, Number 4, Summer 1951; first publications of Fitzgerald's stories; also includes essays on Fitzgerald. This issue also includes essaysF. Scott Fitzgerald and the Image of His Father,The F. Scott Fitzgerald Papers (by Mizener),F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Check List andZelda Sayre Fitzgerald: A Check List.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Charles Scribners Sons, New York (1951). Introduction by Malcolm Cowley; A selection of 28 stories; Misprinting of 'Malcom' on the spine
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Turkey Remains And How To Inter Them. Cooper and Beatty, Toronto (1956). With Numerous Scarce Recipes from The Note-Books of F. Scott Fitzgerald; 2000 copies
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Afternoon of An Author. Princeton University Library, Princeton (1957). Introduction and Notes by Arthur Mizener; A Selection of Uncollected Stories and Essays; 14 uncollected stories and 6 essays by the Author; Includes photographs of Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Afternoon of An Author. The Bodley Head, London (1958). First UK Edition
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Mystery of the Raymond Mortgage. Random House, New York (1960). Privately Printed limited to 750 copies
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Bodley Head Scott Fitzgerald. The Bodley Head, London (1961). Tender is the Night; Autobiographical Pieces; Letters to Frances Scott Fitzgerald; and Four Short Stories. This Side of Paradise; Short Stories: The Rich Boy; The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; The Cut-Glass Bowl and others. The Beautiful and the Damned; Short Stories; The Rough Crossing; Babylon Revisited.
Fitzgerald, F.Scott. The Pat Hobby Stories. Scribners, New York (1962). Intro by Arnold Gigreich; 17 stories, only 5 of which were previously published
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Les Enfants du Jazz. Gallimard, Paris (1967). Tales of the Jazz Age; Translated by suzanne Mayoux; First French Edition; Limited to 47 numbered copies (on Velin pur fil paper)
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Dearly Beloved. Windhover Press of The University of Iowa, Iowa City (1969). A Short Story; Illustrated by Byron Burford; Limited edition of 300 numbered copies; first 30 signed by the artist
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Great Gatsby: A Facsimile of the Manuscript. Microcard Editions Books, Washington D.C. (1973). Edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Romantic Egoists.. Scribners, New York (1974). A Pictorial Autobiography from the Scrapbooks and Albums; Includes 8 pages of color reproductions of Zelda's paintings
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Limited Editions Club, NY. Limited Editions Club, New York (1980). Introduction by Charles Scribner, III; Illustrated by Fred Meyer; Limited Edition of 2000 numbered copies signed by the artist
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Poems: 1911-1940. Bruccoli-Clark Layman, New York (1981). Matthew J. Bruccoli (Editor) and James Dickey (Forward); Limited issue of 100 numbered copies
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Tender is the Night. Limited Editions Club, New York (1982). Illustrations by Fred Meyer; Limited Edition of 2000 numbered copies signed by artist
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Arion Press, San Francisco (1984). Illustrated by Michael Graves; Limited Edition of 400 copies, signed by artist
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Classics of F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Easton Press, Connecticut (1991). Edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli and Judith S. Baughman; 7 volumes: Tender Is The Night, The Great Gatsby, Babylon Revisited, Tales Of The Jazz Age, Beautiful and Damned, The Last Tycoon and The Far Side; Illustrations by Fred Meyer and Richard Sparks
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Six Letters to an Apprentice. Thaumatrope Press/University of California, Riverside (1994). F. Scott Fitzgerald, Willa Cather, George Ade, Ellen Glasgow, Don Marquis, and Ring Lardner; Forward by Ernest Kroll; Illustrated by Elizabeth Cohen and Carolyn Kilgour; Limited edition of 150 copies signed by artists