The Children of Húrin out today!

[Vader AL]

Here's my dumb question: So how can you tell if it's a first printing?

i looked through mine to try and figure that out too....anyone know?

 

[lcummins]

Here's my dumb question: So how can you tell if it's a first printing?

Go to the indicia page (the one with all the publisher's information)... at the bottom there are some letters, followed by numbers counting down from 10 to 1 (or 2). As each new printing occurs, they just remove a number from the right, so if you have a 1st printing, it will go all the way to 1; a 2nd printing stops at 2, etc.

 

[Vader AL]

Go to the indicia page (the one with all the publisher's information)... at the bottom there are some letters, followed by numbers counting down from 10 to 1 (or 2). As each new printing occurs, they just remove a number from the right, so if you have a 1st printing, it will go all the way to 1; a 2nd printing stops at 2, etc.

neat, thanks.

 

[gtb]

Hope this is not an even MORE stupid question:

how do I know that it is first printing WITHOUT removing the shrink-wrapped?

P.S. I really preferred my copy to be shrink-wrapped. So usually I have a reading copy - preferably a paperback.. So guess what, wouldn't be reading UNTIL there is paperback version or somehow, somewhere on the internet, there is *censored* (due to copyright issue).

 

[lcummins]

Hope this is not an even MORE stupid question:

how do I know that it is first printing WITHOUT removing the shrink-wrapped?

P.S. I really preferred my copy to be shrink-wrapped. So usually I have a reading copy - preferably a paperback.. So guess what, wouldn't be reading UNTIL there is paperback version or somehow, somewhere on the internet, there is *censored* (due to copyright issue).

No way to know without looking at the publishing data printed inside the book. Printings can be very tricky with things called "states" getting involved. So you would need to have a 1st Edition, 1st Printing, 1st State to truly have the very first pressing of a book. Unfortunately, "states" are not indicated in the publishing data, and are usually only known by the industry and professionals.

 

[noelleon69]

goliath, pardon me for my oversight. i didn't notice the direction of the wordings on the spine was different. ok, we can all agree on the differences btw the 2 editions now.

though i couldnt really understand their decision on this. everything is similar but they choose to have the wordings printed differently.

 

[gtb]

No way to know without looking at the publishing data printed inside the book. Printings can be very tricky with things called "states" getting involved. So you would need to have a 1st Edition, 1st Printing, 1st State to truly have the very first pressing of a book. Unfortunately, "states" are not indicated in the publishing data, and are usually only known by the industry and professionals.

Right! I miss out the 1st impression and 1st state thingy. When I read with interest on the HP Philosopher Stone ebay listing (about why that one small children book can fetch a market price of more than 3k GBP), I got to know about the 1st imp/1st state.

Never really bother to find out more, perhaps somewhere in the printing code, there will be a way to see... and perhaps varies from publisher to publisher.

wonder if wikipedia or some website can help on this.... afterall HarperCollins is a VERY old publisher..

Any help from this board will be appreciated.

 

[Rook]

No way to know without looking at the publishing data printed inside the book. Printings can be very tricky with things called "states" getting involved. So you would need to have a 1st Edition, 1st Printing, 1st State to truly have the very first pressing of a book. Unfortunately, "states" are not indicated in the publishing data, and are usually only known by the industry and professionals.

This is interesting information. Thanks, Lonnie. Good post.

My SE just arrived last week, and I'm in awe of the effort that went into it. I can't wait to get my greasy fingers all over it...

 

[lcummins]

Here is some more information about "states"...

state - Minor changes made to a portion of the edition during the manufacturing stage and before all of the books were complete and released. The changes can be intentional. For example, a different state may be caused by a correction in the text or illustrations, an insertion of cancels or advertisements, or a different paper used without the intention of creating a separate issue. The changes can also be accidental; for example, a variation in the text or illustrations might occur during the printing. The term does not refer to condition.

This information can be found here:

https://www.alibris.com/glossary/glossary.cfm


And here is an eBay guide to the 1st/1st/1st Harry Potter US book and how difficult it can be to tell the differences...

https://reviews.ebay.com/Harry-Potter-Sorcerers-Stone-FIRST-STATE-PRINTING-Rare_W0QQugidZ10000000000114856?ssPageName=BUYGD:CAT:-1:LISTINGS:2

 

[gtb]

Thank you so much for the information!! Really helpful.. Cheers!

Wonder anyone do that for the 1st/1st/1st identification for the 3 LOTR books.. the very first print, 1954, 1955 and 1956, right?

 

[lcummins]

Thank you so much for the information!! Really helpful.. Cheers!

Wonder anyone do that for the 1st/1st/1st identification for the 3 LOTR books.. the very first print, 1954, 1955 and 1956, right?

Yes, they have been well documented for years, both the UK and US versions.

Here is a page about the UK version...

https://www.tolkienbooks.net/html/1st-rotk.htm

...and a page about the various printings and bindings; very informative!

https://www.tolkienbooks.net/html/lotr-print-runs.html

There are sites about the US versions as well, but I'll leave you to Google search those...