First Edition is stated above full number line "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10" on the copyright page. Boards are cream with gold lettering on a threaded tan spine with maroon paste-downs. Back of dust jacket has eight reviews - by Bret Lott, Gail Godwin, Wally Lamb, Laurie Robertson-Lorant, Elizabeth Renker, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews. Illustrations by Christopher Wormell.
Warning: the book club edition has an identical copyright page as the first edition including a statement of First Edition and a full number line. However, the book club edition has white rather than maroon paste-downs, and the spine does not have threads.
Picture of the 1999 first edition dust jacket for Ahab's Wife.
Picture of the first edition copyright page for Ahab's Wife.
Picture of dust jacket where original $28.00 price is found for Ahab's Wife.
Picture of the back dust jacket for the first edition of Ahab's Wife.
Picture of the first edition Morrow and Company boards for Ahab's Wife.
Picture of the back dust jacket flap for the first edition of Ahab's Wife.
Picture of the first edition title page for Ahab's Wife.
Photo of the first edition front flap and first edition maroon paste-down.
The book club edition of Ahab's Wife has no price on the front flap. This is typical for most books published by the book-of-the-month club.
In this photo the book club edition is resting on top of the first edition. Notice the threads on the spine in the first edition.
The true first edition has maroon paste-downs. The book club edition has white paste-downs.
The dust jacket spine is white for the true first edition, while the dust jacket spine on the book club edition has a beige hue. |
Disclaimer: This website is intended to help guide you and give you insight into what to look for when identifying first editions. The information is compiled from the experience of reputable collectors and dealers in the industry. Gathering and updating information about these books is more an art than a science, and new identication criteria and points of issue are sometimes discovered that may contradict currently accepted identification points. This means that the information presented here may not always be 100% accurate.
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