We are an online reference guide providing collectors the details
necessary to help identify modern first edition books.

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.

September 27, 2008

The Sea Chase was written by Andrew Geer. The first edition was published in 1948 by Harper and Brothers. It was 274 pages long, and the retail price was $3.00.

First edition Points: FIRST EDITION is stated on the copyright page above "G-X". The binding is olive cloth with gilt lettering on the spine. $3.00 price is on the upper corner of the front dust jacket flap, and "No. 7200" is on the bottom. "No. 7201" is present on the bottom of the back flap. Photo of author is on the back of the jacket above his biography and below a review by James Ramsey Ullman; and "No. 2934" is present on the lower left. Click here for more photos...

September 24, 2008

On Golden Pond was written by Ernest Thompson. The first edition was published in 1979 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It was 191 pages long, and the retail price was $7.95.

Here are the first edition points: First edition is stated on the copyright page with no references to subsequent printings. Boards are orange cloth. Dust Jacket back flap has photo of author with a biography and no reviews. Dust jacket back has eight reviews. Click here for more photos...

September 21, 2008

Marathon Man was written by William Goldman. The first edition was published in 1974 by Delacorte Press. It was 309 pages long, and the retail price was $7.95.

First edition Points: "First printing" is stated on the copyright page with no references to subsequent printings. Binding is black cloth with red top stain. Back of dust jacket has a photo of the author with ISBN on the bottom right (no reviews). Click here for more photos...

September 19, 2008

Jewel was written by Bret Lott. The first edition was published in 1991 by Pocket Books. It was 358 pages long, and the retail price was $20.00. Jewel is an Oprah's Book Club selection.

Here are the first edition points: "First Pocket Books hardcover printing November 1991" is stated on the copyright page above full number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1". Boards are golden yellow with white cloth spine and gold lettering. Back of dust jacket has three reviews. Click here for more photos...

September 15, 2008

The Man with the Golden Arm was written by Nelson Algren. The first edition was published in 1949 by Doubleday. It was 343 pages long, and the retail price was $3.00. The Man with the Golden Arm won the National Book Award.

The first edition points are as follows: FIRST EDITION is stated at the bottom of the copyright page. Boards are light gray cloth with red and green lettering on the spine and green top stain. Endpapers are green. Back of dust jacket has photo of the author and three reviews - Chicago Sun, Malcolm Cowley, and Chicago Tribune.

Note: The book club edition is smaller than the true first edition and the dust jacket would appear shorter if married to a true first book. The book club boards are darker and lacks red lettering on the spine. Click here for more photos...

September 12, 2008

Songs in Ordinary Time was written by Mary McGarry Morris. The first edition was published in 1995 by Viking Press. It was 740 pages long, and the retail price was $24.95. Songs in Ordinary Time is an Oprah's Book Club selection.

The first edition points are as follows: "First published in 1995 by Viking Penguin" is stated on the copyright page above full number line "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2". The boards are black with black cloth spine and gold lettering. Click here for more photos...

September 09, 2008

On the Road was written by Jack Kerouac. The first edition was published in 1957 by Viking. It was 310 pages long, and the retail price was $3.95.

The first edition points are as follows: "PUBLISHED IN 1957 BY THE VIKING PRESS, INC." is stated on the copyright page with no other references to subsequent printings. "PRINTED IN U.S.A. BY THE COLONIAL PRESS INC." is stated on the bottom of the copyright page. "ON THE ROAD" is printed in white on the front of the book. Dust jacket says "ON THE ROAD $3.95" at the top of the inside front flap, and has blue and red bands at the top and bottom of the rear panel. Click here for more photos...

September 03, 2008

Blood Meridian was written by Cormac McCarthy. The first edition was published in 1985 by Random House. It was 337 pages long, and the retail price was $17.95.

Here are the first edition points: First Edition is stated on the copyright page below Random House number line "24689753". Red cloth spine with gilt titles. Dust jacket back has photo of the author, with photo credit (Mark Morrow) on the bottom left corner, and "394-54482-X" on the bottom right corner. Click here for more photos...

September 01, 2008

The Huge Season was written by Wright Morris. The first edition was published in 1954 by Viking Press. It was 306 pages long, and the retail price was $3.75.

Here are the first edition points: "FIRST PUBLISHED BY THE VIKING PRESS IN OCTOBER 1954" is stated on the copyright page. Bound in yellow cloth with black lettering on spine and blue/green top stain. Back of dust jacket has photo of Morris with three blurbs about him. Back panel has reviews of three "Other current novels of the American scene" which are Saul Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March, John Steinbeck's Sweet Thursday, and Merle Miller's Reunion. Click here for more photos...

August 29, 2008

Bloodline was written by Ernest Gaines. The first edition was published in 1968 by Dial Press. It was 249 pages long, and the retail price was $4.95.

First edition Points: "FIRST PRINTING, 1968" is stated on the copyright page. Boards are red with black lettering. Back of dust jacket has photo of the author with no reviews nor any other writing. Click here for more photos...

August 26, 2008

Stones from the River was written by Ursula Hegi. The first edition was published in 1994 by Poseidon Press. It was 507 pages long, and the retail price was $23.00. Stones from the River is an Oprah's Book Club selection.

Here are the first edition points: Copyright pages has full number line "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2". Boards are cream with black cloth spine and gold letters. The true first edition was published by Poseidon Press and should not be confused with the Simon and Schuster edition which was published after the Poseidon edition and which has a different ISBN. Click here for more photos...

August 23, 2008

Song of Solomon was written by Toni Morrison. The first edition was published in 1977 by Alfred A. Knopf. It was 337 pages long, and the retail price was $8.95. Song of Solomon is an Oprah's Book Club selection.

The first edition points are as follows: First Edition is stated on the copyright page with no references to subsequent printings. Boards are black cloth with gold lettering on spine and blind stamped title on the front. Dust Jacket back flap has photo of author with a biography that mentions only Song of Solomon, and has "9/77" on the lower left corner. The back panel has four reviews for Sula, three reviews for The Bluest Eye, and the ISBN on the lower right corner. Click here for more photos...

August 20, 2008

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter was written by Carson McCullers. The first edition was published in 1940 by Houghton Mifflin Company. It was 356 pages long, and the retail price was $2.50. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is an Oprah's Book Club selection.

Here are the first edition points: 1940 is stated on both the title page and the copyright page. Binding is oatmeal cloth with maroon lettering. Photo of author on back of dust jacket with three reviews. Back dust jacket flap has a review of Summer's Lease by E. Arnot Robertson. Click here for more photos...

August 17, 2008

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was written by J.K. Rowling. The first edition was published in 2003 by Bloomsbury. It was 766 pages long, and the retail price was £16.99.

The first edition points are as follows: "First published in Great Britain in 2003" is stated on the copyright page toward the top, and "First edition" is stated near the bottom. The boards are illustrated to match the dust jacket. Click here for more photos...

August 14, 2008

End Zone was written by Don DeLillo. The first edition was published in 1972 by Houghton Mifflin Company. It was 242 pages long, and the retail price was $5.95.

Here are the first edition points: First Printing is stated on the copyright page with no references to subsequent printings. Back of dust jacket has reviews of Americana by Joyce Carol Oates, Nelson Algren, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, Barbara A. Bannon, and William A. McBrien. The back flap has a photo of the author. Boards are black cloth with silver lettering on front and on spine, and with blue/green topstain. Click here for more photos...

August 11, 2008

The Stepford Wives was written by Ira Levin. The first edition was published in 1972 by Random House. It was 145 pages long, and the retail price was $4.95.

Here are the first edition points: First Edition is stated below the Random House number line "98765432". Boards are tan with cream cloth spine and gold lettering. Dust jacket has photo of author on the back with his name on the bottom left and ISBN on bottom right. No reviews on dust jacket. The front flaps of all copies we have seen are clipped at the corner and have round price stickers near the clip. This price change was presumably made by the publisher before the books were released. Click here for more photos...

August 10, 2008

At Paradise Gate was written by Jane Smiley. The first edition was published in 1981 by Simon and Schuster. It was 224 pages long, and the retail price was $12.95.

First edition Points: Copyright pages has full number line "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2". Boards are greenish gray with orange cloth spine. Back of dust jacket has three reviews on the back panel, and a photo of the author on the back flap. Click here for more photos...

August 09, 2008

Victory Over Japan was written by Ellen Gilchrist. The first edition was published in 1984 by Little, Brown and Company. It was 277 pages long, and the retail price was $15.95. Victory Over Japan won the National Book Award.

Here are the first edition points: FIRST EDITION is stated on copyright page with no references to subsequent printings. Boards are light brown with dark brown spine and gold lettering. Back of dust jacket has no mention of any awards, and has three reviews - The London Times Literary Suppliment, The Washington Post, and Harper's. Click here for more photos...

August 08, 2008

World's Fair was written by E.L. Doctorow. The first edition was published in 1985 by Random House. It was 288 pages long, and the retail price was $17.95. World's Fair won the National Book Award.

The first edition points are as follows: First Edition is stated on the copyright page below Random House number line "24689753". Boards are blue with gold lettering on spine. Back of jacket has photo of the author with no reviews. 300 copies of the first edition were specially bound with special signed limitation pages tipped in, and were published in slipcases instead of dust jackets.

Click here for more photos...

August 07, 2008

The Hair of Harold Roux was written by Thomas Williams. The first edition was published in 1974 by Random House. It was 373 pages long, and the retail price was $7.95. The Hair of Harold Roux won the National Book Award.

Here are the first edition points: FIRST EDITION is stated both on the top of the copyright page, and on the bottom of the copyright page (in proper case) beneath the Random House number line "24689753". Boards are maroon with gold lettering. Back of dust jacket has photo and biography of the author, and no reviews. Click here for more photos...

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.

We are an online reference guide providing collectors the details necessary to help identify modern first edition books.

We are an online reference guide providing collectors the details
necessary to help identify modern first edition books.