What is a first edition books

Again, pay close attention to detail, comparing what you have to what is advertised for sale. The current retail value of your book is probably somewhere in that neighborhood. Also, remember that asking prices are not always selling prices see below for information on how to understand and interpret the prices you find online. Well, there could be a good reason; it could be a more desirable copy of the book. Or, he may be just trying to take advantage of the notion some people have that expensive must be better.

There are a number of these type of sellers out there. A good bookseller will be glad to answer your questions. Another route is to contact a local bookseller who offers appraisals.

Or, contact a local auction house if you believe your books may be very valuable. Not all first editions are valuable. However, for a first edition to have value, there must be a demand for it. Some books are published in such huge quantities that first editions are very common.

Another example would be a small-press or mimeo publication by a much-collected poet. In that case, the supply remains low while demand for rises. It's always worth checking the number in this situation, as the words can sometimes be left on the copyright page either by mistake or intentionally, leading to some confusion.

Watch our BookBreak video for some tips and tricks on second hand bookshopping below:. Sign up here. Ready for your next read? Home Articles Fiction How do I tell if my book is a first edition? What is a first edition book? Should I care what edition my book is? Are all first editions valuable?

Open book on table with books in the background How do I tell if my book is a first edition copy? The Dates If the date on a copyright page matches the date on the title page, it's likely that your copy is a first edition. The Edition Identifier Some publishers will print the words 'First Edition', 'First Printing', 'First Impression' or similar on their copyright page to make it easier to identify which printing a book was part of.

In some cases, no indication to the contrary is the way that you can tell the first printing. That particular statement is something of a boast from the publisher, telling readers that the first edition sold out before the book was ever even released.

The first printing is the first edition. Once you have some level of confidence that your book is a first edition, you may be faced with a question of state. Some books went through some subtle but significant metamorphoses mid-print run.

Sometimes this was a matter of catching a typo or missing page, or sometimes the change was even more practical, such as switching the color of the cloth on the binding as the supply of one color ran out. That indicates that the copy they are offering is the earliest example of that commercial production.

Those points of issue are the specific misprints or changes. That mistake was caught fairly quickly. The printers fixed that error by tipping in the missing page, creating the second state of the first edition. The initial error was fully addressed later in that print run when the missing dedication page was printed and bound into the book, creating the third state of the first edition.

The knowledge that booksellers accumulate on the specifics for determining first editions takes years to build, and constant exposure the books themselves, but amazing, comprehensive resources are available to speed things up a bit. These tiny, unassuming looking little guides carry a wealth of information compactly presented. Edward N. See all of the above-mentioned reference books and search for First Editions from Biblio booksellers.

Take care of your old books — vintage, antiquarian, and fine — because their condition is key, especially…. The left side of the number line indicates the years of publication and the right side the printing number.

The incomplete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 in this example tells you that it is a fifth printing of that book. Random House between and started number lines with a 2 to indicate the first printing. Note: Alfred A Knopf often marks the back board with their logo which should not be mistaken for the book club deboss or blind stamp.