The following table is an excerpt from our book the childrens picturebook price guide. How to identify first editions or a first printing of a book. Learn the basics of first edition identification for book collectors. Bloomsbury publishing first printed the book in 1997. A big thing to look for when determining if a book is a first edition, or a book club edition is size. In general, antiques are considered to be 100 years or older. Are the books on your shelves or in your grandparents attic worth something. Remember that different publishers have their own criteria. How to tell if a book is a first edition or valuable. The estimated values are for first edition books, with dust jackets.
How to tell if a book is a first edition or valuable book riot. Each company does their first edition identification if they do any at all differently, so unless youve got a handydandy housebyhouse guide, the whole concept can make you go a bit crosseyed. So if a book has had more than one printing, how can you tell which one you have and therefore whether or not. Heres how to tell if what youre reading is a first edition or not. Each publisher has their own conventions for what they use to tell the first printing of their books. I have a hardy boys book called the mystery of cabin island. Can a first edition of a book be identified by its isbn.
Fundamentals of a good firstgrade education core knowledge series. Seuss books should also own a copy of first editions of dr. For book collectors, however, age is not the primary consideration. If youre looking for a perfect first edition set, dont buy these, you probably already know that. Often, a book will say first edition on the folio page page. First, you can tell if the book specifically says 1st edition. In publishing terms, a first edition book is all copies that were printed from the same setting of type as when first published. The first edition has 18 lines of text on the page, while the book club edition has only 12 lines of text. Picture of the 1998 first edition dust jacket for harry potter and the sorcerers stone u.
For some blockbuster titles, this can be as many as 50,000 copies or more. Sometimes publishers get lazy and dont change the text of the folio page upon reprintings, and even though it might be a. The majority of booksellers and collectors want the true first edition the edition of the book that supersedes all other editions chronologically and sometimes detective work is required to identify the true first. The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants the numbering of book editions is a special case of the wider field of revision control. Unless the author or publishers makes changes to the text, adds something like an appendix or authors note, or revises the text, there is only one edition from format to format. Finding and possessing a rare first edition book is often a goal of both the novice and expert book collector. A true first edition can be identified using a printing number, which can be found at the very beginning of the book. In this example, the lowest number is 1, so i have a first edition, first printing.
Identifying, and valuing first edition dr seuss books. How to tell if a book is first edition know the printing. If the word first edition is on the page with a number. This is often the case with nonfiction books such as textbooks. Like many things in publishing, what denotes a first edition can be complex and dependent on the whims of individual publishing houses. The estimated values in the table are for first edition books with dust jackets. To tell the edition of a book, look at the bottom of the page. A book club edition is far less valuable than the true first u. Dealers rely on experience and reference books to identify valuable first editions. Identifying first editions the new antiquarian the blog of the. Usually, if a one is present in the line then its a first edition. To a book collector the phrase first edition refers to a book that was released during the first printing of the first edition they call this book a 1st1st.
If a book is printed in the same format as it was originally, than it is a first edition first state. Fundamentals of a good firstgrade education core knowledge series hirsch jr. The beginners guide to identifying first editions book riot. The book series follows the adventures of harry potter during his time spent at hogwarts school and his faceoffs against the dark wizard voldemort. Since criteria for indicating a first edition varies from publisher to publisher, theres no easy answer. Remember that even if the lowest number is 2, 3, or whatever, if the publisher is still. Find out how to tell if a book is a first edition with this handy. A tale of the christ first appeared in 1880, it was bound in a cadet bluegray cloth with floral decorations on the front cover, spine, and back cover. For many vintage books or books published by a small imprint, only 100 or so copies were run for the first edition, so they are both highly sought after and hard to find. Feel the magic with harry potter first edition antiquarian collectible books the harry potter books are a childrens fantasy series written by the bestselling author j.
But a first edition, first state is more desired and valuable among collectors, as a first edition usually is closest to the most original source. The differences between collectible firstedition comic books and valueless reprints can be subtle. There are thousands of publishers and they use a large variety of methods, which are often changed, to define first editions. If a book reads something like 3 5 7 9 8 6 4, then your book is not part of the first printing the example above indicates a third printing cycle. The childrens picturebook price guide includes first edition identification points for twentynine of the books in the list click on the books title to see first edition identification points for a. A first printing has to be a 1st edition, but a 1st edition may not even be close to a 1st printing. The best site on the net for info on rare stephen king books. Generally speaking, a first printing will have the same isbn as all subsequent printings, unless the book changes publishers, formats, or is reissued with some hoopla. When there is enough new information to warrant updating the book, a revised second edition may be published. Wallace had only one other novel printed before the fair god in 1873 and harper probably only issued this first printing in an edition of 1,000 copies. The order of the phoenix book has a food stain on the first page. The traditional conventions for numbering book editions evolved spontaneously for several centuries before any greater applied.
Check for special book club markings on the backboard near the spine. But they lack the embossed diamond pattern on the book boards. Get cozy and expand your home library with a large online selection of books at. Harry potter first editions harry potter at catch the snitch. If the words first printing fp, first impression fi or first edition fe ar. If a 1 is present in any sequence its usually a sign that the book is a first edition. This book video will show you how to know if you have a first edition book. For example, if a book was published back in the 1970s, went out of stock, and they decide to slap on a new jacket but not change the interior, the isbns for the book are the same and is not considered a first edition. So, you have just entered the world of book collecting, and have probably. However things are often not so easy and a book can clearly state first edition or first printed without mention of another edition or date and still be a reprint.
First printing, first impression, and first published are other ways of publishers stating the first edition. This update will not be distributed via the 3g network. Buy first edition books for sale at auction invaluable. To identify what printing you have, look for the lowest number in the string. The idea is to get the book as it appeared in the bookstores the day it was released, says john larson, specialist in 19th and 20thcentury literature at swann auction galleries. Recommended books for collectors of first editions. Second,you can also tell if the book is a hard cover edition. The book collectors definition is the first printing of the first edition. But there are a few very basic rules that can be helpful. Publishers often reprinted using the same plates as the first, sometimes for years afterwards. This image from mywingsbooks guide to bce demonstrates the subtle differences in the smaller size of hardcover bce books. The book is only described as a second edition if significant changes are made to the copy.
Identifying first edition hardy boys book the ebay community. The first edition refers to a books first printing run. How to know if a comic book is a reprint our pastimes. This is a broad term that gets misused all the time. If the word first edition is on the page with a number line, that number line. To check books without first edition slugs, use the article stalking the unmarked first. The string of numbers can be descending, as it is here, ascending, or in totally random order. However, that uk first edition comes in a red dust jacket and also in a green dust jacket, and noone seems to know which one was printed first. Can anyone help me with identifying a whether my book is a first edition.
In the world of book collecting, a first edition is generally considered to be the first appearance of a work, in its first printing. But fortunately there are several other ways to tell the first edition from the book club edition we have observed. In general, books before 1900 did not indicate first or subsequent printings. First edition criteria and points to identify the hunt for. Many publishers will print the hardcover edition of a book and call that a first edition, then print the same text in paperback and call it a first edition as well. If the year and the year of publication is the same, it is likely that you have a first. Make sure that a book that does have a first edition slug hasnt carried the slug forward beyond the first printing by checking the table presented in the article false firsts. Seuss books 2002, by helen younger, marc younger, and dan hirsch. Bloomsbury publishing use a reverse number system to identify when a. But for older books, or books originally published by small imprints, the first run may have been as few as 100 copies. What follows is an overview of how to determine whether the book you have is. Abebooks explains how to identify a first edition book youtube.
Additionally, these differences routinely vary by publisher, brand, series and print date, making it difficult for the novice comic book collector to know when he has the genuine article. If there are no other editions listed, the book you have is the first edition. Many of the jackets are a little roughed up which is fair i suppose considering theyre used. If a 1 is present in any sequence its usually a sign that the book. If there are two or more books described as a first edition, then a collector will want to know which one is superior. The printing year 1929 boards are red, last page has an advertisment for the don sturdy series. The first harry potter book to be published was harry potter and the philosophers sorcerers stone. In collecting terms, a general definition of 1st edition book would be a works first commercially available appearance in. If the publisher prints more copies of the identical book, those are not first editions. How can i tell if a book is a first modern library edition. Abebooks explains how to identify a first edition book. Esri press book resources getting to know arcgis pro. Our collection of first edition oz books exceeds all of the antique book dealers combine.
This channel helps those that need to learn what to buy when going to. How you can tell the difference between a first edition, first printing, and a book club edition of a collectible book and why it matters. Sometimes the word first edition will helpfully be printed on that page, often described as first edition stated by booksellers. At first this can become somewhat confusing because when a book becomes very popular and is often reprinted many times over a number. When the first edition of a book has a few typos or other small errors. A recent search on abebooks where 15,000 book dealers listed their books, search of first edition copies of wonderful wizard of oz returns only 15 copies for sale see the first photo and as can be seen on the second image we. So if you ask the printer to print 10,000 copies of a book and then you sell them all and go back and ask for another 7,500 copies, the first 10,000 copies was the first printing.
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