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 is a first edition. A first editions is the earliest printed copy of a published book. Collectors look for first edition books because these tend to have the highest demand and the greatest potential to increase in value over time. There are standard identification criteria that first editions conform because most, but not all, first edition books follow an established identification method established by each book publisher. These first edition criteria are details about what a book looked like when it was initially printed as a first edition. These details include details such as certain codes on the copyright page, the type of the binding, and particular text on the dust jacket.

In addition to the first edition criteria, there are sometimes points of issue that describe some part of a book which changes during the first printing without the standard first edition identification of the publisher changing, thus creating some copies of the first edition that have the point, and some that do not have the point. The most common type of first edition points of issue are typographical mistakes that were changed during the first printing. In these cases, the copies with the mistake are more desirable because they represent the earliest state of a first edition.

The fedpo.com website helps a collector understand the identification criteria and any first edition points of issue by describing details such as a book's binding, a specific typographical error, or a dust jacket review that can only be found on the earliest printings. First edition criteria and points of issue are usually subtle, but they are important features that distinguish a rare first edition from a common reprint.

The most common first edition criteria 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 indicator 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 or other type of reprint. 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 criteria 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 entries by clicking on the bars at the bottom of this page. We have pages for hundreds of collectible books where we describe first edition criteria, 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 30, 2009

Half Portions was written by Edna Ferber. The first edition was published in 1920 by Doubleday, Page. It was 315 pages long, and the retail price was $1.75.

Here are the first edition criteria: Title page and copyright page should both say 1920 with no other statement of printings. Boards are brick red with black lettering. Dust jacket is light green. Back of dust jacket has a single large quote with three additional quotes by New York Sun, Chicago Daily News, and Boston Herald and Journal. The back dust jacket flap has an advertisement for Waifs and Strays by O. Henry, and the front dust jacket flap has an advertisement for Some Of Us Are Married by Mary Stewart Cutting. Click here for more photos...

September 17, 2009

Our House in the Last World was written by Oscar Hijuelos. The first edition was published in 1983 by Persea. It was 235 pages long, and the retail price was $13.95.

The first edition criteria are as follows: First Edition is stated on copyright page with no references to subsequent printings. Boards are black cloth with silver lettering. Front of dust jacket is a painting by Philip Guston called "If THis Be Not I". Back of dust jacket has a photo of the author below a single review by Donald Barthelme. This is the author's first book. Click here for more photos...

September 14, 2009

Goodbye, Columbus was written by Philip Roth. The first edition was published in 1959 by Houghton Mifflin Company. It was 298 pages long, and the retail price was $3.75. Goodbye, Columbus won the National Book Award.

Here are the first edition criteria: First Printing is stated on the copyright page and 1959 stated on the title page. Boards are black cloth with author and publisher on spine in yellow, and title also on spine in white. The dust jacket seems to be unchanged through at least the third printing. Click here for more photos...

September 13, 2009

A World to Win was written by Upton Sinclair. The first edition was published in 1946 by Viking Press. It was 627 pages long, and the retail price was $3.00.

The first edition criteria are as follows: The first printing states "FIRST PUBLISHED BY THE VIKING PRESS IN MAY 1946" on the copyright page. There should be no other printing statements. Boards are red with title and publisher's logo embossed on the front and silver lettering on the spine. Red top stain. The back dust jacket flap has reviews by Bernard Shaw, Lion Feuchtwanger, Lewis Browne, Claude G. Bowers, John Haynes Holmes, and Albert Einstein.

Total number of pages was 627, but that included 3 pages of book listing of the author's previous works, and circulation figures of the World's end series. This is volume VII of the World's End series aka the "Lanny Budd" Novels. The first printing run was 80,000. Click here for more photos...

September 09, 2009

Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories was written by Sandra Cisneros. The first edition was published in 1991 by Random House. It was 165 pages long, and the retail price was $18.00.

Here are the first edition criteria: First Edition is stated on copyright page below Random House number line "98765432". Boards are rust with blue cloth spine and bronze lettering. Front board has an embossed bronze symbol of a crescent moon over water. Back of dust jacket has a photo of the author and three reviews - by Ann Beattie, Kirkus Reviews, and Publishers Weekly. Click here for more photos...

September 05, 2009

The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (UK) was written by Katherine Anne Porter. The first edition was published in 1964 by Jonathan Cape. It was 487 pages long, and the retail price was 35s net.

First edition criteria: There is some debate over whether the true first edition was the American or UK edition. By the most strict definition, the UK edition was clearly published a year prior to the American edition. The American edition is stated as such on its copyright page. So if you want the true first edition of a book called The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter, which is basically a compilation of three previously published collections, then the UK edition is for you.

If you are a Pulitzer collector however, the answer is not nearly so clear-cut. The book published in the UK in 1964 was simply a compilation of previously published stories from three previously published volumes - "Flowering Judas"; "Pale Horse, Pale Rider"; and "The Leaning Tower and Other Stories". It had nothing new, and it was not the edition that won the Pulitzer in 1966 (books published in 1964 did not qualify for the 1966 prize). The edition that won the Pulitzer was the American edition, published in 1965. The American edition contained four new stories that had not previously been published in book form. Those stories were "Virgin Vioteta", "The Martyr", "Holiday", and "The Fig Tree". That makes the American edition a very different book than the UK edition. That is why many Pulitzer collectors want the American Edition. Some collect both.

That said, below is the UK edition - the true first edition. "FIRST PUBLISHED 1964" is stated on the copyright page. The book is gray cloth with gold lettering on the spine, and red topstain. The back of the dust jacket is simply red and lacks text, design, or photos. The rear flap of the dust jacket indicates that the jacket was designed in 1963. 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.

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