We venture to say that no other piece of terminology has caused so much contention among booksellers and collectors as that of first edition. In publishing terms, an edition is technically all copies of a book that were printed from the same setting of type and the book is only described as a second edition if substantial changes are made to the copy. However, in collecting terms, a very rough description of first edition would be when it is the first appearance of a work in question.
To shed a little more light, the first time a publisher releases a new book all copies of that book that are printed without major changes can be considered a first edition. If the initial print run of this first edition sells out and the publisher decides to produce a subsequent printing with the same typeset the book would be described as a first edition, second printing.
On the other hand, if substantial changes are made to the book after its first printing, perhaps the addition of a chapter or a foreword, then the book would be described as the second edition. To make matters more confusing, each first edition book collectors free download a new publisher releases an instance of the same title or a book is released in another format they may also describe their book as a first edition for instance, the Penguin Classics first edition or the first paperback edition.
You can now probably understand why there is so much debate about 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. The confusion around first editions is illustrated by by George Orwell. However, that UK first edition comes in a red dust jacket and also in a green dust jacket, and no-one seems to know which one was printed first.
The general consensus is that the red issue is the true first but no-one has proof. Identifying a first edition is no simple matter. There are thousands of publishers and they use a large variety of methods, which are often changed, to define first editions.
This style has been used since First edition book collectors free download War II. The line sequence could ascend or descend or even have no discernable order depending on the publisher. All of these sequences below are first editions. This number line below identifies a second printing printed in If you find that the date on the copyright page matches the date on the title first edition book collectors free download, then it is probably a first edition.
Most 19th century publishers placed the date of publication on the title page but that practice faded out after and the date became appearing on the copyright page. We recommend obtaining a guide to first editions. June 03, Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email. Considered the true first edition, over the US edition. Considered to have the same priority as the red covered version first edition book collectors free download collectors.
Identifying the First Edition of a Book. Book collecting Collecting guides. What's your most prized first edition?
