Is My 20th Century Ghosts a First Edition?

The points of issue

• PS Publishing issued Hill's first book in October 2005 in three simultaneous states: a deluxe slipcased hardcover limited to 200 numbered copies signed by Joe Hill and by Christopher Golden (who supplied the introduction); a jacketed hardcover limited to 500 numbered copies signed by Hill alone; and an unsigned trade paperback limited to 1,000 copies
• Cover art by Vincent Chong; introduction by Christopher Golden
• 341 pp., 8vo
• Identification is by the printed limitation statement and hand-numbering, not by a number line — PS Publishing books carry no descending number line, so the 'look for the 1' habit does not apply here
• All three states are first printings of the true first edition; the 200-copy slipcased issue is the highest state and must retain the publisher's slipcase to be described as such
• The original release was sold largely by pre-order direct from the publisher's website

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

UK precedes US, and both editions are collected. The true first is PS Publishing, Hornsea, East Yorkshire, October 2005 — Joe Hill's debut book. The first US edition is William Morrow (HarperCollins), New York, October 2007, and it is not a straight reprint: it adds 'Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the Dead' (first published in Postscripts, Autumn 2005), which was not in the PS edition. The Morrow edition is therefore simultaneously the first US edition, the first trade edition, and the first book appearance of that story — a genuine expanded 'first thus' collected on its own terms — but it is not the true first of the collection. The census claim is confirmed as stated.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented for the PS issue, which was a small-press, pre-order release. The reprint trap runs in the opposite direction from the usual: the widely available 2007 Morrow trade hardcover and its later printings are commonly offered as simply 'first edition' because they are the first edition in the US, and buyers read that as the true first. Morrow first printings are identified by a complete number line with 1 present. A US Morrow advance reading copy in wrappers also exists and is not the first edition of anything. Any copy without a printed PS limitation statement and hand-number is not one of the two 2005 hardcover states.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of 20th Century Ghosts a first edition?

A first edition of 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill (PS Publishing, Hornsea) is identified by: PS Publishing issued Hill's first book in October 2005 in three simultaneous states: a deluxe slipcased hardcover limited to 200 numbered copies signed by Joe Hill and by Christopher Golden (who supplied the introduction); a jacketed hardcover limited to 500 numbered copies signed by Hill alone; and an unsigned trade paperback limited to 1,000 copies.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). UK precedes US, and both editions are collected.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club edition is documented for the PS issue, which was a small-press, pre-order release. The reprint trap runs in the opposite direction from the usual: the widely available 2007 Morrow trade hardcover and its later printings are commonly offered as simply 'first edition' because they are the first edition in the US, and buyers read that as the true first. Morrow first printings are identified by a complete number line with 1 present. A US Morrow advance reading copy in wrappers also exi

I have a first edition of 20th Century Ghosts — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.