Is My A Hall of Mirrors a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first edition: Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1967 (the book appeared December 1966 but is dated 1967 on the copyright page)
• Stone's first novel, octavo, 409 pp
• The first printing is identified by 'First Printing' stated on the copyright page — Houghton Mifflin's consistent house practice from the late 1950s through the 1960s — with the date in arabic numerals on the title page
• Binding is quarter gray cloth over black boards, lettered in black on the spine, with a blind-stamped front cover and patterned endpapers
• The first-state dust jacket carries the Wallace Stegner blurb on the front flap and a photograph of Stone holding a coffee mug on the rear panel; the jacket is priced at the front flap

How Houghton Mifflin marked a first edition

• Merger-lineage window (Hurd & Houghton 1864 → Houghton, Osgood & Co. 1878–1880 → Houghton, Mifflin & Co. from 1880): still no 'First Edition' wording; identify by title-page date matching the copyright date, by the earli…
• Late-19th to mid-20th century (c.1880s–1950s): the operative tell is the title page. Houghton Mifflin almost invariably printed the year of first publication, in Arabic numerals, on the title page of a first printing and…

Full Houghton Mifflin 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. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
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?

US Houghton Mifflin (Boston), 1967 is the true first. UK first: The Bodley Head, London, 1968 (blue boards, dust jacket designed by Yvonne Skargon, a small printing) — a genuine first UK edition but subsequent to the US. The census precedence (US 1967 / UK Bodley Head 1968) is confirmed.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue documented for the first printing. Beware copies lacking the 'First Printing' statement (later Houghton Mifflin printings) and later-state jackets that drop the Stegner blurb / coffee-mug author photo.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Hall of Mirrors a first edition?

A first edition of A Hall of Mirrors by Robert Stone (Houghton Mifflin) is identified by: True first edition: Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1967 (the book appeared December 1966 but is dated 1967 on the copyright page); Stone's first novel, octavo, 409 pp.

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

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. US Houghton Mifflin (Boston), 1967 is the true first.

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

No book-club issue documented for the first printing. Beware copies lacking the 'First Printing' statement (later Houghton Mifflin printings) and later-state jackets that drop the Stegner blurb / coffee-mug author photo.

I have a first edition of A Hall of Mirrors — 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.