This is perhaps the most straightforward determinant. Locate the notsoobvious clues first edition stated. How to identify first editions book collecting guide. The band formed in 1967, with folk musician mike settle guitar and backing vocals and. The exception to this, to a certain extent, is the first edition 200200 of seusss milestone book, the cat in the hat, and to a large extent, is the first state stickered of green eggs and ham the first state of green eggs does not surface too often. However, if there are other editions listed, your book will be the most recent one. Esri press publishes books and tutorials on gis, cartography, and the application of spatial analysis. Jan 22, 2020 to tell the edition of a book, look at the bottom of the page. For example 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 indicates a first printing. Sometimes publishers get lazy and dont change the text of the folio page upon reprintings, and even though it might be a 3rd edition, it could still say first edition in the text. Edition and printing can be used fairly interchangeably in talking about collectible books, especially in regard to modern fiction.
But it is not clear at this time when the first name was added. Heres how to tell if what youre reading is a first edition or not. Can a first edition of a book be identified by its isbn. The book used for comparison was a twelfth printing. The sequence of the numbers varies between publishers but the basic principal remains the same apart from a few exceptions a first issue edition impression requires the presence of the number 1. Rowlings birth name before she took a pen name and a. Second,you can also tell if the book is a hard cover edition. Whether youre a book collector searching for a first edition or youre a student looking for the most recent copy of a textbook. Another common method of identification is the number line thats a line of numbers on the page. The dust jacket spine of the first edition lacks the authors first name. How to tell if you have a harry potter first edition set. How to tell if you have a first edition copy of a book. The desire to acquire first editions could be considered the backbone of the book collecting world. Fundamentals of a good firstgrade education core knowledge series hirsch jr.
Lately, first edition has become widely accepted tto mean first edition, first printing when buying or selling books although, technically speaking, it shouldnt be. If the word first edition is on the page with a number line, that number line must be complete. 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. Thats because first edition means different things to collectors and to publishers.
Oct 03, 2019 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. First edition identification by publisher ag in the case of titles published before 1900, the key to first edition identification is often the date on the title page. Publishers often reprinted using the same plates as the first, sometimes for years afterwards. How to tell if a book is a first edition or valuable book riot. The order of the phoenix book has a food stain on the first page. To a publisher, all printings within an edition are the first edition. Sometimes the word first edition will helpfully be printed on that page. Many publishers use the term first edition to mean a book reprinted without changes.
First edition copies state first edition on the page and the number sequence will be 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3. In collecting terms, a general definition of 1st edition book would be a works first commercially available appearance in. Collectors use the term first edition to mean first edition, 1st state. The first edition continues until the book is changed. Remember that different publishers have their own criteria. Typically, you will want to start with the page as a first glance. How to tell if a book is a first edition or valuable. All publications are available to purchase online and include topics that cover many areas of public and private endeavor including landuse planning, health care, education, business, government, and science. As weve mentioned elsewhere, first edition means the first printing of a book. Abebooks explains how to identify a first edition book youtube. If a 1 is present in any sequence its usually a sign that the 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. 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 beginners guide to identifying first editions book riot. A first edition is classified as the first time a book is printed with a certain publisher or cover art, but the true first edition always refers to the books original printing date with the initial publisher. Are the books on your shelves or in your grandparents attic worth something. Jul 31, 20 adam blakeney, senior specialist in modern literature at peter harrington explains how to identify first editions. 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. To identify what printing you have, look for the lowest number in the string. By far the most valuable book in the series is the first, harry potter and the philosophers stone, published on 30 june 1997 by bloomsbury in london.
If you own one of these rare books, youre sitting on a. 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. To tell the edition of a book, look at the bottom of the page. Picture of the 1998 first edition dust jacket for harry potter and the sorcerers stone u. Bloomsbury publishing first printed the book in 1997. If the date of first publication doesnt match that of your edition then youre out of luck. Esri press book resources getting to know arcgis pro, first. Firstedition identification by publisher ag in the case of titles published before 1900, the key to firstedition identification is often the date on the title page. Bloomsbury publishing use a reverse number system to identify when a. If youre looking for a perfect first edition set, dont buy these, you probably already know that. Firstly its important to establish what actually constitutes a harry potter first edition. The estimated values in the table are for first edition books with dust jackets. Book libris provides some additional suggested resources for how to determine first edition status travelin librarian a guide to editions and printings one other thing to note. Click here to download a 180day trial of arcgis pro available only with the printed book.
Rowling s harry potter series has gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide, and first editions of her books have very quickly become collectable. Many of the jackets are a little roughed up which is fair i suppose considering theyre used. Also, just because its a first edition doesnt automatically mean its valuable, most of the time thats not the case. Collecting, identifying, and valuing first edition childrens. As for the other books in the list, we have found that most of them come to market. Esri press book resources getting to know arcgis pro. The first harry potter book to be published was harry potter and the philosophers sorcerers stone. An 1845 firstedition copy of edgar allan poes the raven.
The publisher may actually state the words first edition or first printing on the page. Remember that even if the lowest number is 2, 3, or whatever, if the publisher is still. If the words first printing fp, first impression fi or first edition fe ar. Oct 17, 2011 sometimes the number line is also accompanied by the words first edition, but be careful because some publishers leave on the words first edition even when the book is in its third printing. This means that the first number in that line of numbers must start. Buy first edition books for sale at auction invaluable.
Abebooks explains how to identify a first edition book. First edition harry potter books have become very valuable. In this example, the book is technically a first edition but fourth printing or fourth state. Nov 07, 2006 first edition is really short for first edition, first printing.
This will fluctuate depending on the publishing house, but most publishers will designate that a book is a first edition on the page. Usually, if a one is present in the line then its a first edition. The book collectors definition is the first printing of the first edition. But they lack the embossed diamond pattern on the book boards. Resources click here to download the exercise data for this book. 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. Sometimes publishers get lazy and dont change the text of the folio page upon reprintings, and even though it might be a. Nov 08, 2012 the string of numbers can be descending, as it is here, ascending, or in totally random order.
If the publisher prints more copies of the identical book, those are not first editions. How to identify first editions or a first printing of a book. First, you can tell if the book specifically says 1st edition. At first this can become somewhat confusing because when a book becomes very popular and is often reprinted many times over a number. By the time the fourth book in the series was released harry potter mania had well and truly taken hold and copies were printed by the millions. Sometimes the number line is also accompanied by the words first edition, but be careful because some publishers leave on the words first edition even when the book is in its third printing. Adam blakeney, senior specialist in modern literature at peter harrington explains how to identify first editions. A book can go through several print cycles, sometimes with edits that add in author notes or additional material, so the book in its original form during its initial release or first printing to the public is what is generally defined as a first edition by collectors and sellers. How much new material is needed for a second edition of a. So if a book has had more than one printing, how can you tell which one you have and therefore whether or not your edition is a true first. According to the definition of edition above, a book printed today, by the same publisher, and from the same type as when it was first published, is still the first edition of that book to a bibliographer. Generally speaking, if the 1 is present, the book is a first edition first edition, first printing. A true first edition can be identified using a printing number, which can be found at the very beginning of the book.
For the second printing, the 1 is removed, so the 2 is the lowest number present. 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. But a first edition will only have one date of printing, with no earlier date listed. For example, a number line that reads 5 6 7 8 9 indicates a fifth printing.
Fundamentals of a good firstgrade education core knowledge series. Here is how you can tell if you have an original and what it may be worth. 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. I recently received an email from a client whose book had been featured in the new york times, on and throughout regional and local press. Sometimes publishers include the words first edition next.
Before anything else you should check to see if the book has first edition, first printing written inside the cover. K rowing will have a much higher value even if it isnt an early edition or part of harry potter first edition set. Thus you could see the words first edition on a book with the number starting at 4 or d. In this example, the lowest number is 1, so i have a first edition, first printing. There are thousands of publishers and they use a large variety of methods, which are often changed, to define first editions. If there are two or more books described as a first edition, then a collector will want to know which one is superior. To find out more about what a first edition book is and why its. First edition most often refers to the first commercial publication of a work between its own covers, even if it was first printed in a periodical. In general, books before 1900 did not indicate first or subsequent printings. Both books have the 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 number lines. First edition is really short for first edition, first printing.
Like many things in publishing, what denotes a first edition can be complex and dependent on the whims of individual publishing houses. How to tell if you have a harry potter first edition. Picture of the first edition page for harry potter and the sorcerers stone u. 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. 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. 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. Often, a book will say first edition on the folio page page. First edition books are the first appearances in print of a particular work, and as such convey value and meaning to their owner, aesthetically, emotionally and monetarily. The book is only described as a second edition if significant changes are made to the copy. As the book series grew in popularity the later books were printed by the millions even on the first print run, so for the final books in. Clearly any mention of these terms indicates a reprint. Harry potter first editions harry potter at catch the snitch. 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. A new version of the book is then typeset, which becomes the second edition.
Nook 1st edition frequently asked questions, faqs barnes. The first edition of harry potter and the philosophers stone is the only book in the series that credits joanne rowling as its author j. The sequence of the numbers varies between publishers but the basic principal remains the same apart from a few exceptions a first issueeditionimpression requires the presence of the number 1. The vast majority of first editions published before 1900 had the year of publication on the title page this is true for fiction and nonfiction titles. First edition identification would be an easy task if there were only one publishing house and they remained consistent in their printing methods over the years, but alas this is far from the case. Another note here on the use of the term first edition. You can tell if the book is a first edition with 4 easy steps. Over the years there have been thousands of publishers, each using various methods for distinguishing a first edition. How to tell if you have a harry potter first edition set and.
Other first edition points for books by stephenie meyer include. In publishing terms, a first edition book is all copies that were printed from the same setting of type as when first published. Oct 30, 2019 i know you have said that may mean it is a book club edition but the book cover price is there and correct and the book is not significantly smaller. Jan 17, 2016 remember that different publishers have their own criteria. Identifying first editions the new antiquarian the blog of the. However, just because you see those words doesnt mean youve got a valuable book on your hands. Also, book club edition dust jackets dj are occasionally found on first editions to replace lost or damaged jackets.
However, book collectors generally use the term first edition to mean specifically the first print run of the first edition aka first edition, first impression. Finding and possessing a rare first edition book is often a goal of both the novice and expert book collector. If there are no other editions listed, the book you have is the first edition. Open the book and look at the inside flap of the dust jacket. A general rule is that if the number 1 is listed, the book is a first edition. If no changes are made to the book, such as a new chapter, a new preface by the author, etc. Trim size is given because book club editions are often smaller than trade editions. Its core members were kenny rogers lead vocals and bass guitar, mickey jones drums and percussion and terry williams guitar and vocals. After selfpublishing, she is now in talks with foreign publishers interested in the international rights. But publishers are the only ones who use the term that way. Collecting, identifying, and valuing first edition. For book collectors, however, age is not the primary consideration. A book club edition is far less valuable than the true first u.
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