Is My A Deadly Shade of Gold a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Gold Medal paperback original, 1965, Travis McGee #5 and a double-length entry in the series
• The first printing appears in pictorial wraps carrying the Gold Medal serial number d1499 on the cover and spine, with the page edges tinted yellow
• The cover art shows the girl by Ron Lesser and McGee rendered by John McDermott
• As a Gold Medal original there is no printer's number line; identify the first printing by the d1499 serial and the absence of any later-printing or higher price notation

How Fawcett Gold Medal marked a first edition

• Gold Medal pioneered the PAPERBACK ORIGINAL — so the Gold Medal paperback is itself the first edition (no prior hardcover) for most of its crime/noir list. Identification centers on first-PRINTING points, not first-editi…
• First printing is identified by the Gold Medal serial number and the copyright-page printing notice: a true first usually has NO 'Second printing'/'Third printing' line; later printings explicitly state the printing and…

Full Fawcett Gold Medal first-edition guide →

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 US 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?

Paperback original; the US Gold Medal wraps edition precedes all others. A UK Robert Hale hardcover followed in 1967 and the first US hardcover, from J.B. Lippincott, not until 1974 (some Lippincott copies carry a '175' code at the head of the front jacket flap, with no established priority between coded and uncoded).P-015045

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

UK Hale hardcover (1967) and the later US Lippincott hardcover (1974) are reprints, not the first. Identify the true first by the d1499 Gold Medal serial and yellow-tinted page edges.P-015046

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Deadly Shade of Gold a first edition?

A first edition of A Deadly Shade of Gold by John D. MacDonald (Fawcett Gold Medal) is identified by: Gold Medal paperback original, 1965, Travis McGee #5 and a double-length entry in the series.

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). Paperback original; the US Gold Medal wraps edition precedes all others.

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

UK Hale hardcover (1967) and the later US Lippincott hardcover (1974) are reprints, not the first. Identify the true first by the d1499 Gold Medal serial and yellow-tinted page edges.

I have a first edition of A Deadly Shade of Gold — 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.