How to Identify A First Edition

On this page:

• general guidelines for identifying first editions
• specific publishers
• book club editions
• second printing before publication
• are first editions valuable?
• further reading & helpful websites

(And we've got more! Be sure to check out more first edition & book collecting info elsewhere on our site.)

Introduction

How do you know if a book is a first edition? There is no easy answer. Criteria for indicating a first edition varies from publisher to publisher. To complicate matters, some publishers do not identify their first editions at all, or have used varying methods over the years. That said, there are some general guidelines one can rely upon to identify many first editions. If you find yourself purchasing a certain publisher's books very often, you would do well to familiarize yourself with the methods that publisher uses to identify its first editions.

The best guide to first edition identification is "Pocket Guide to the Identification of First Editions," by Bill McBride, whose book "Points of Issue : A Compendium of Points of Issue of Books by 19th-20th Century Authors" is also well worth buying. Both books are softcover, inexpensive, and small enough to fit in your pocket. You can buy them directly from Bill McBride or buy it at Amazon.com.

Following the general guidelines on this page, I've included a guide to the ways various specific publishers identify their first editions. I've concentrated on publishers that have often offered books by the Beats, small press publishers, and publishers of modern poetry. Information is drawn from various sources, and my own experience.

General Guidelines for Identifying a First Edition

There are many ways that publishers identify their books as a first edition. Some common ones are:

• "First Edition," "First Printing," "First Published," "Published," or "First Impression" appears on the copyright page.

• A number line such as 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, or something similar. (See below.)

• The date on the title page is the same as the date on the copyright page.

• There is no designation for a first printing, but later printings are noted on the copyright page.

  (For an explanation of the difference between a edition and printing, click here.)

Number Lines:
Number lines have been commonly used in the post-World War II era.
The line commonly is a series of numbers (ex: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 or 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2. Occasionally a letter line is used (ex: a b c d e).

Generally speaking, if the "1" is present, the book is a first edition (first edition, first printing).

For the second printing, the "1" is removed, so the "2" is the lowest number present. For example, a number line that reads 5 6 7 8 9 indicates a fifth printing.

Occasionally a number line will be accompanied by a date line. Example: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 80 81 82 83 84 indicates a third printing, published in 1980.

Confusion enters the situation when one encounters both a "First Edition" designation and a number line. For example, the copyright page may read "First Edition" and be accompanied by the number line 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2. In this case, one of two situations may apply:

• The book is a first edition. The "First Edition" line will be deleted by the publisher for the second printing, leaving the line beginning with "2." (This is Random House's method.)

• The book is a second printing. The publisher neglected to remove the "First Edition" designation, by policy or by error.

In these two situations it is best to consult a a guide to first editions, or a bibliography.
Though these guidelines serve as a good rule of thumb, each publisher has their own way of designating their first editions, and I strongly recommend purchasing a copy of Bill McBride's "Pocket Guide to the Identification of First Editions", as mentioned above.

Matching Dates:
If you find that the date on a book's copyright page matches the date on the title page, it is likely that it is a first edition. Very occasionally these dates may differ - for example, if the book was copyrighted late in the year and published early the next year. But generally you want to find dates that match.

Sometimes you may see a series of dates on the copyright page. This is usually because some of the work appeared at an earlier time in a different publication. For example, a poem or chapter may have been published in a literary journal or anthology. In this case, if the latest date on the copyright line matches the title page, then you have a first edition.

Small Press Publishers:
Many, if not most, small press publishers print books in relatively small press runs, from just a dozen or so on up to a few thousand. Due to a variety of reasons, such as budget and demand, most small press publications do not go into second or later printings. As a general rule of thumb, if you have a small press book and there is no indication of a later printing, there is a high likelihood of it being a first edition. In my experience most small press publishers do designate later printings on the copyright page. Also, check the back of the book for a colophon page that explains the details of the printing history.

Identifying First Editions from Specific Publishers

Each publisher has its own way of identifying first editions and later printings. We've listed some publishers associated with the Beat Generation, modern poetry & the small press and their methods of designating firsts. This section has been moved to its own page: Identifying First Editions from Specific Publishers.

Are First Editions Valuable?

Some are; many are not. I've put together a separate article on the topic of the value of first editions, which I hope you'll find helpful.

Identifying Book Club Editions

There are several ways to identify book club editions (BCE). Different book clubs use different criteria for identifying their books. As a rule of thumb:

• Book club editions will not be priced. (However, some University presses & small presses do not price their books either, so lack of a price will not always be a sure way to identify a BCE.)

• Book club editions are often a little smaller than a regular hardcover book, and may feel lighter. The paper may not be the same quality as on the trade edition.

• There may be a blindstamp impressed into the back cover of a hardcover book. Turn the book over, and look near the bottom of the back cover, near the spine. There may be a small shape impressed into the cover. This is a blindstamp and always indicates a book club edition.
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• Look at the flaps of the dustjacket. There may be a notation "Book Club Edition," or something similar.

• Check the copyright page. Occasionally the name of the book club will be found here.

• Paperback book club books are often (but not always) a little larger than the trade paperbacks. They will not be priced.

If in doubt, do a web search for a bibliography of the author in question. If you still can't find the answer, the folks at rec.collecting.books newsgroup may be able to help you out.

Some book club editions are sought by collectors; most are not. But there are easy ways to research your book's possible value.

What is a "second printing before publication?"

Have you ever seen the statement "second printing before publication" on the copyright page and wondered what it means?

In a nutshell, it's just a second printing, printed before the date the book went on sale.

Each book that is published has a planned publication (release) date. The publisher estimates about how many books will be needed to fulfill orders from book sellers, and prints that many.

However, sometimes a book receives so many advance orders that the publisher needs to order a second printing to meet the demand. That's what's known as the "second printing before publication."

A second printing before publication is no more or less desirable than any other second printing. Generally, book collectors are interested in the first printing of the first edition.

Another note here on the use of the term "first edition:" To a publisher, all printings within an edition are the "first edition." But publishers are the only ones who use the term that way.

In common usage - the way book collectors & booksellers intend it - a "first edition" is the first printing of the first edition. If an advertised book is referrred to as a first edition, "first printing of first edition" is always what's meant.

What about first editions published in multiple countries?

Often, books are published in various countries by the same publisher on the same day. How do you know which one is the "true first edition"?

For books published in multiple countries simultaneously, the general rule amongst book collectors is to "follow the flag." This means that book published in the author's own country is considered the "true first." So, for instance, if the books are released on the same day & the author is American, the American first would be most desired.

However, if the Canadian edition were released on a date before the American edition, in most instances it would have priority with collectors, since it is the earliest publication of the book (the "true first").

I say "in most instances," because if the author is American, some collectors will still prefer to have the American book, even if it was published slightly earlier in another country. Collectors are funny like that; although there are generally accepted customs & trends - such as "follow the flag" - each collector will still have his own preferences.

And, a completist collector (one who wants to collect everything by a particular author) will want to have both the American and Canadian editions, even though only one will be considered the "true first."

To sum up - as a general rule, if you have a choice between two books or more books, published at the same time in different countries, you'll want to buy the one published in the author's native country.

What's the difference between a printing and an impression?

They are both the same thing. Printing is the more commonly used term, but they are interchangeable.

Further Reading

on this site

See our Book Collecting Articles for info on 1st editions, values & collecting.

identifying first editions - other helpful websites

• Lazy Lion Books Guide to Identifying Firsts from Specific Publishers
• Books Seattle's First Edition Identification page
• Babcock Books' What is a First Edition?

helpful books

These books can be found at your local bookshop, library, or Amazon.com.

We've got more to tell you!

For further info on book collecting, first editions, and values, see our book collecting articles index.

Something Else?

Please email Denise if there's a topic you'd like to see added to this page.