The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Copyright page has ISBN 978-0-06-137422-7 and full number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1". The boards are textured cream with beige and red metallic lettering. The front of the dust jacket lacks "NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER" blurb. The back of dust jacket has ISBN 978-0-06-137422-7, which matches the ISBN on the copyright page. The dust jacket is made of textured paper that is most noticeable when looking at the reverse and on the front flap. The back of the dust jacket has reviews by Stephen King, Richard Russo, Mark Doty, Margot Livesey, and Dalia Sofer. The first printing was said to comprise 26,000 copies.

Warning: there is an Oprah version of this book that looks similar to the true first edition, but has several distinguishing points. The most noticeable is that the Oprah version says "NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER" across the top of the front dust jacket. The Oprah version also has a different ISBN (978-0-06-176806-4), which can be found on both the copyright page and the back of the dust jacket. The new ISBN was created to ensure accurate tracking of sales. Please see the comparison photos on the bottom.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is an Oprah's Book Club selection.

To find the market value for this book, click on the pre-filled eBay, AbeBooks, or Biblio links to the right and look for comparable listings that have all of these first edition points.

Picture of the 2008 first edition dust jacket for The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.

Picture of the first edition copyright page for The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.

Picture of dust jacket where original $25.95 price is found for The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.

Picture of the back dust jacket for the first edition of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.

The true first edition (top) lacks the New York Times Bestseller statement that is present on the Oprah's book club edition (bottom).

The true first edition's copyright page has ISBN 978-0-06-137422-7 and full number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" like the one on the top. The first printing of the Oprah edition also has a full number line, but the ISBN is different.

The correct ISBN 978-0-06-137422-7 is present on the back of the true first edition dust jacket (top), and this number matches the ISBN on the copyright page. The Oprah edition has ISBN 978-0-06-176806-4 on the dust jacket back (bottom).

The true first edition has textured cream boards like the one on the left. The book underneath it on the right is a fifth printing which has smooth boards. The spine on both books are smooth, but the first printing has a darker beige spine.

The first issue dust jacket has textured paper that is most noticeable when looking at the reverse and on the front flap. The dust jacket on the bottom is the first issue, and the jacket on the top is the second issue.

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 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. If you spot a mistake, drop us an e-mail and we will do our best to investigate and correct it.

See also...

See also...