|
Is
it really a
First
Edition? --
Stop the
First
Edition
Madness: |
Out of sheer
disbelief
and
frustration,
we have
decided to
dedicate a
few webpages
to the
Top 20
Most
Commonly
Mis-identified
1st Editions.
What points
to look for
on the true
1st
editions,
and which
books most
certainly
are not 1st
editions of
these
well-known
titles. The
mistakes
online --
particularly
in auction
listings --
are getting
rampant &
ridiculous.
Rather than
referring to
well-respected
bibliographies,
too many
sellers are
basing their
descriptions
on previous
listings and
the mistakes
just
perpetuate.
Hopefully
these
webpages
will assist
in quelling
these
errors.
Are you an
experienced
collector or
bibliographer
that is
frustrated
and fed up
with the
plethora of
first
edition
errors that
abound in
online
auctions and
even popular
book search
engines.
Can you
stand the
pain no
longer.
Are you
tired of
emailing
sellers with
well-intentioned
corrections,
detailed
attributions
or
bibliographical
citations
that go
unheeded,
ignored or
even
challenged.
Are you fed
up with
hearing the
standard
[albeit
haphazard]
disclaimer,
well yes it
may not be
the TRUE 1st
edition, but
my
[paperback]
"Three
Musketeers"
is a "first
edition
thus" --
which, of
course,
leaves you
ready and
eager to
wring their
neck and
perform your
best "one of
these days"
Ralph
Kramden
"bang zoom,
straight to
the moon"
impersonations
Do you just
want people
to get it
right once
and for all.
Do you
realize the
irony that
many
collectors
are being
confused and
sellers are
unwittingly
perpetuating
these
mistakes to
the point of
making them
practically
urban
legends.
Well, let's
help stop
the first
edition
madness and
set the
record
straight.
Although
this list
was intended
to be a Top
20 list of
errors, we
are willing
to make it a
Top 50 or
even a Top
100 list if
the support
and interest
is there.
If we build
it, they
will come.
Although
there are
hundreds of
common
mistakes out
there --
even if we
restrict
this list to
late 19th
and early
20th century
popular
fiction --
perhaps this
will be our
"Field of
Dreams"
where
visitors and
enthusiasts
can come for
reliable and
accurate
answers so
that
collectors
can find
what they
are truly
looking for
without
being misled
in a mire of
confusion.
A place
where we can
direct the
uninitiated
and
obstinate
"well I was
told", or
"according
to my
[obtuse,
online]
research"
naysayers to
-- rather
than spend
the
unappreciated
time and
effort of
rewriting a
detailed
attribution,
only to see
the errors
continue
elsewhere
again and
again. |
What is a
First
Edition?: |
Essentially,
the first
printing of
the first
edition of a
book.
Specifically,
all of the
copies
printed from
the first
setting of
type; can
include
multiple
printings if
all are from
the same
setting of
type. Every
printed book
has a first
edition,
many never
have later
editions. A
later
edition
would have
substantial
changes in
the printing
plates or
type such as
the addition
of a new
preface or
new chapter
or major
changes
throughout
the text and
often is
printed from
a complete
resetting of
the type.
When book
collectors
use the term
first
edition,
they are
usually
referring to
the first
printing and
if there are
different
states or
issues, the
earliest of
those. [R.
Lucas,
Essentials
of Book
Collecting,
Part 2] |
What is a
First
Printing?: |
A first
printing
are the
copies of
a book or
other
printed
material
which
originate
from the
same press
run or
from the
same
plates or
setting of
type at
one time.
In the
example
given for
"Edition"
above, the
500 copies
would be
the first
printing
and the
300 copies
comprise
the second
printing.
In the
19th
century
some
publishers
labeled
later
printings
as if they
were later
editions,
i.e. a
second
printing
would be
called a
"second
edition"
on the
copyright
page.
[R. Lucas,
Essentials
of Book
Collecting,
Part 2] |
What is an
Issue?: |
An
issue is a
portion of
an edition
printed or
published
deliberately
by the
printer or
publisher in
a distinct
form
differing
from the
rest of the
printing
relative to
paper,
binding,
format, etc.
The
distinction
between
"issue" and
"state" is
that the
former
relates to
changes done
on purpose
by the
publisher or
printer and
intentionally
treated as a
separate
unit, i.e. a
large paper
issue or an
issue in
publisher's
leather. [R.
Lucas,
Essentials
of Book
Collecting,
Part 2] |
What is a
State?: |
A state is
the portion
of a
printing
with changes
such as
minor
alterations
to the text
either
intentional
or
accidental;
insertion of
cancels,
advertisements
or other
insertions;
copies on
different
paper
without
intention of
creating a
separate
issue; and
changes
other than
folding or
collating or
binding. An
example
would be
when a
pressman
discovers
battered or
broken type,
stops the
presses and
resets that
portion of
the page by
replacing
the broken
type and
then resumes
the
printing,
which would
result in at
least two
states. [R.
Lucas,
Essentials
of Book
Collecting,
Part 2] |
What is a
Variant?: |
A variant
usually
refers to
differences
in bindings
or endpapers
(paper
located just
inside the
front and
rear covers,
one half of
which is
glued to the
cover). One
variant may
have a title
stamped on
the front
cover in
black and
another may
be stamped
in red.
[R. Lucas,
Essentials
of Book
Collecting,
Part 2] |
I recommend
that all book
collectors read
Robert Lucas'
excellent
article:
The
Essentials of
Book Collecting
|