 The Bonfire of the Vanities was Tom Wolfe's first novel
 Click here to see first edition points for all First American Editions in the Harry Potter series
Click here to see first edition points for Classic Science Books
 Click here to see first edition points for National Book Award winners
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Welcome to First Edition Points
We are an online reference guide providing collectors the details
necessary to help identify modern first edition books.
Today's Most Referenced First Edition Points | 
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How to Establish the Value of a Book
The key to establishing a book's value is to first ensure that it meets all of its First Edition Points. First Edition Points are details about what a book looked like when it was initially printed as a first edition. Collectors look for first printings of first edition books because these tend to have the highest demand and the greatest potential to increase in value over time. First Edition Points help a collector identify a first edition by describing details such as a book's binding, a specific first printing typo, or a dust jacket review that can only be found on the first printing. First Edition Points are usually subtle, but they are important features that distinguish a rare first edition from a common reprint.
The most common First Edition Point can be found on a book's copyright page. The copyright page may say that a book is a first edition, or a first printing, or first impression; and it may state additional printing information, or it may provide a printing code indicating what printing a book is from. Each publisher has used various methods over the years to indicate a book's edition and printing. Another common First Edition Point is a book's cover price, which is typically printed on the dust jacket. The presence of a price on a dust jacket is also the most fundamental way to ensure that the dust jacket is not from a book club edition. Book club editions look similar to genuine first editions, but they are not first editions, and they have very little collectible value.
To find First Edition Points for a specific book, simply type in the name of the book, or the name of the author in the fields above; or browse all of our available points of issue by clicking on the bars at the bottom of this page. We have pages for hundreds of collectible books where we describe First Edition Points, provide photographs of known first editions, and provide pre-filled eBay, AbeBooks, and Biblio search links for each book so you can quickly establish its most recent market value.
Today's Featured Book: J R
July 04, 2008
J R was written by William Gaddis. The first edition was published in 1975 by Alfred A. Knopf. It was 726 pages long, and the retail price was $15.00. J R won the National Book Award.
Here are the first edition points: FIRST EDITION is stated on the copyright page with no references to subsequent printings. The hard cover and softcover were issued simultaneously, but the hardcover is less common. The book club edition also states FIRST EDITION, but it has a blindstamp on the lower right corner of the rear board below the Borzoi dog blindstamp. Note: Most booksellers list this book on eBay and AbeBooks as "JR" rather than "J R". Click here for more photos...
July 03, 2008
The Double Helix was written by James Watson. The first edition was published in 1968 by Atheneum. It was 226 pages long, and the retail price was $5.95 .
The first edition can be identified by the following points: First Edition is stated on the copyright page. Dust Jacket back has photo of the author in Paris with reviews below. "ILLUSTRATED $5.95" is on the upper corner of the front flap. Click here for more photos...
July 02, 2008
Cold Mountain was written by Charles Frazier. The first edition was published in 1997 by Atlantic Monthly Press. It was 356 pages long, and the retail price was $24 . Cold Mountain won the National Book Award.
The first edition points are as follows: The true first was a signed edition limited to 500 copies in a slipcase. Value ranges between $400 and $800.
Below is the first trade edition with 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page. The first issue has misprint on p. 25, line 16 ("man-woman" instead of "madwoman"). Back dust jacket cover has blurbs by Kaye Gibbons, Rick Bass, Ann Beattie and Willie Morris. Some edition had John Berendt blurb attached on a label to the front panel (it is not considered an issue point, as some copies had this affixed on publication day, while others did not. First trade editions as valued between $100 and $400. Click here for more photos...
July 01, 2008
The World According to Garp was written by John Irving. The first edition was published in 1978 by Dutton. It was pages long, and the retail price was $10.95 . The World According to Garp won the National Book Award.
The first edition can be identified by the following points: FIRST EDITION is stated with the number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page. The dust jacket carries a price of $10.95 and 0478 on the back panel The author Click here for more photos...
Previously Featured Book: Outlander
June 30, 2008
Outlander was written by Diana Gabaldon. The first edition was published in 1991 by Delacorte Press. It was 627 pages long, and the retail price was $20.00 .
The first edition can be identified by the following points: July 1991 and 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page. Dust jacket carries price of $20.00 and has full wrap-around cover art by Kinuko Y. Craft. Click here for more photos...
June 27, 2008
Slaughterhouse-Five was written by Kurt Vonnegut. The first edition was published in 1969 by Delacorte Press. It was 186 pages long, and the retail price was $5.95 .
The first edition can be identified by the following points: First Printing is stated on the copyright page. Dust jacket price reads $5.95 on the upper corner of the front flap. Click here for more photos...
June 23, 2008
In Cold Blood was written by Truman Capote. The first edition was published in 1965 by Random House. It was 343 pages long, and the retail price was $5.95 .
The first edition can be identified by the following points: There were 500 copies of the first edition that were specially bound and signed by Capote.
Below is the first trade edition. "FIRST PRINTING" is stated on the copyright page and no book club mark on back of book. (Note: the book club edition also states first printing, but it has a small debossed square or circle near the bottom next to the spine.) Dust jacket has original price of $5.95 on the top front flap and "1/66" on the bottom front flap. The back dust jacket flap says "Publishers of the American College Dictionary and the Modern Library". Click here for more photos...
June 21, 2008
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was written by John Berendt. The first edition was published in 1994 by Random House. It was 388 pages long, and the retail price was $23.00 .
The first edition points are as follows: "First Edition" is stated on the copyright page below the number line "2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3". Dark green boards with black cloth spin. Typo "fmr" versus "for" on Page 11, line 32. Dust jacket price is $23.00 and has Ann Beattie blurb at the top of the rear panel.
There was also a deluxe edition published in the same year as the first edition. It was signed by John Berendt, hand numbered, published in a pictorial slipcase rather than a dust jacket, and limited to 2,500 copies. The copyright page says "Limited Edition" below the number line "2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3". Boards are gray cloth.
Click here for more photos...
June 19, 2008
Cities of the Plain was written by Cormac McCarthy. The first edition was published in 1998 by Alfred A. Knopf. It was 292 pages long, and the retail price was $24.00.
Here are the first edition points: "First Edition" is stated on the copyright page. Boards are black cloth with gold lettering on spine. Reviews on the back dust jacket by Kurt Tidmore and Robert Hass. 1,000 copies were issued with a special signed limitation page tipped in for "friends of the author and publisher".
A limited edition of 300 signed and numbered copies was published at the same time by B.E. Trice Publishing. It has marbled boards with leather spine, and is housed in a cloth slipcase. Click here for more photos...
June 16, 2008
Love in the Time of Cholera (First American) was written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The first edition was published in 1988 by Alfred A. Knopf. It was 348 pages long, and the retail price was $18.95 . Love in the Time of Cholera (First American) is an Oprah's Book Club selection.
The first edition can be identified by the following points: "First American Edition" is stated on the copyright page with no statement of subsequent printings. Boards are black cloth with gold lettering on front and on the spine. There are two issues of the dust jacket, and possibly two states of the first issue jacket. The first issue dust jacket has the front title in yellow letters and has so far been found on first and second printings. The second issue has white letters on the front title and has been found on printings as early as the sixth. There is also said to be a first state of the first issue jacket where the words "a novel by" appears above the author's name on the front. So far we have not been able to verify this first state.
There is also a deluxe version of the First American Edition that was limited to 350 copies. They were printed on special paper, signed by the author on a special hand-numbered page, specially bound, and issued in a slipcase. Click here for more photos...
June 13, 2008
To Have and Have Not was written by Ernest Hemingway. The first edition was published in 1937 by Charles Scribner's Sons. It was 262 pages long, and the retail price was $250.
The first edition points are as follows: The first edition has an "A" and the Scribner's seal on the copyright page. Binding is black cloth with gilt lettering on the cover and green blocks on the spine with gilt lettering. Click here for more photos...
Previously Featured Book: Neuromancer
June 11, 2008
Neuromancer was written by William Gibson. The first edition was published in 1984 by Ace Science Fiction. It was 271 pages long, and the retail price was $2.95 .
The first edition points are as follows: The first edition of this Nebula Award winner was a paperback published by Ace Science Fiction. The copyright page states Ace Original/July 1984 and ISBN: 0-441-56956-0. Front cover art is by James Warhola.
The first hardcover edition was published in late 1984 by Victor Gollancz in the UK. The first American hardcover edition was published in 1986 by Phantasia Press.
Click here for more photos...
June 09, 2008
Dragon's Teeth was written by Upton Sinclair. The first edition was published in 1942 by Viking. It was 631 pages long, and the retail price was $3.00. Dragon's Teeth won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
The first edition points are as follows: The first printing states "FIRST PUBLISHED IN JANUARY 1942" on the copyright page. There should be no other printing statements. The Dust Jacket is very rare.
There is also a self-published advance copy. The book itself looks similar to the Viking first printing, but it lacks the Viking logo on the front board, and the title page states "Published by the Author, New York City and Pasadena, California".
Click here for more photos...
Previously Featured Book: Tim
June 07, 2008
Tim was written by Colleen McCullough. The first edition was published in 1974 by Harper and Row. It was 248 pages long, and the retail price was $6.95 .
The first edition points are as follows: The copyright page lacks any statement of subsequent printings. Boards are blue with light blue cloth spine. The dust jacket has price of $6.95 in the upper right corner of the front flap, and 0474 at the bottom of the front flap. Author's first book. Click here for more photos...
June 05, 2008
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was written by Ken Kesey. The first edition was published in 1962 by Viking. It was 311 pages long, and the retail price was $4.95.
The first edition points are as follows: "Published in 1962 by The Viking Press" stated on middle of copyright page with no mention of subsequent printings. light green cloth, orange spine lettering, and orange top stain. Contains "that fool Red Cross woman" on page 9, lines 12-13; and "Red Cross woman named Gwen-doe-lin, with the blond hair the patients are always arguing about..." on the top of page 86. Dust Jacket has price of "$4.95" on the upper corner of the front flap and a five-word Jack Kerouac blurb on the bottom of the front flap. Click here for more photos...
Previously Featured Book: His Family
June 03, 2008
His Family was written by Ernest Poole. The first edition was published in 1917 by Macmillan. It was 320 pages long, and the retail price was $1.50. His Family won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
The first edition can be identified by the following points: Date on title page and copyright page are both 1917. No other printing statements should be present. Dust jacket is extremely rare and adds most of the value to the book. Click here for more photos...
Previously Featured Book: Catch-22
June 02, 2008
Catch-22 was written by Joseph Heller. The first edition was published in 1961 by Simon and Schuster. It was 443 pages long, and the retail price was $5.95 .
The first edition points are as follows: FIRST PRINTING is stated on the copyright page. Book is blue cloth with white titles on spine and top edge stained red. Dust jacket has $5.95 price on the bottom of the front flap, and author's picture on the back panel with no blurbs. Click here for more photos...
June 01, 2008
Out of Africa was written by Isak Dinesen. The first edition was published in 1938 by Random House. It was 389 pages long, and the retail price was $2.75.
The first edition can be identified by the following points: Below is the first American edition. It states "First Edition" on the copyright page. Book is rust-colored cloth with flamingo on the front and black spine. The dust jacket carries a price of $2.75 on the upper corner of the front flap. The generally accepted first American dust jacket back features "A Noteable List of Recent and Forthcoming RANDOM HOUSE FICTION". It lists nine books beginning with Count Belisarius by Robert Graves. There is also a possible variant that lists ten books beginning with Salute To Yesterday by Gene Fowler. Click here for more photos...
May 29, 2008
Profiles In Courage was written by John F. Kennedy. The first edition was published in 1955 by Harper & Brothers. It was 266 pages long, and the retail price was $3.50 . Profiles In Courage won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
The first edition points are as follows: The true first edition carries FIRST EDITION and M-E (December 1955) on copyright page. The book is light blue cloth with black spine and gold letters. The jacket carries a price of $3.50. The book title on the jacket spine is red when it is in fine condition, but tends to fad to pink if sunned. Click here for more photos...
May 28, 2008
The Manchurian Candidate was written by Richard Condon. The first edition was published in 1959 by McGraw-Hill Book Company. It was 311 pages long, and the retail price was $4.50 .
Here are the first edition points: First Edition is stated on the copyright page. Dust jacket has price of $4.50 on the upper front flap. No reviews on the back of dust jacket. Click here for more photos...
Disclaimer
This website is intended to help guide you and give you insight into what to look for when identifying first editions. As such, the information presented here may not always be 100% accurate. Gathering and updating information about these books is more an art than a science, so some of our first edition points may be wrong. If you spot a mistake, drop us an e-mail and we will do our best to investigate and fix it.
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