spotting a first edition book

Book collecting is a fast gowing area but one of the big problems is - spotting a true first edition

This is probably because there is no definative answer - also most collected are 1st edition 1st prints

Modern firsts are much easier to spot thanks in main to the introduction of a number line

Here the order of the numbers is not a concern - just what is the lowest

eg 10 8 6 4 2 9 7 3 5 1

the presence of the number 1 being the lowest number determines it as a first edition

many US editions state first edition

and of course if it lists reprints then it is not a true 1st edition 1st printing - whilst it may be a first edition it is obviously a later print

and if the number line reads 7 5 9 8 10 - then again it could be a first edition but a 5th print - determined by 5 being the lowest present number

We do not write this as a hard and fast rule but hope it will help new collectors

If you have questions please email us - via ASQ @ our shop - Signaturetune