Is My A Lie of the Mind a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The earliest documented book publications date to the 1985-1986 period: a Dramatists Play Service acting-edition softcover
• and the New American Library / NAL Books hardcover, which pairs the play with The War in Heaven and is variously dated 1986 to 1987 by cataloguers (black cloth over boards, silver spine lettering, ISBN 0-453-00530-6)
• Precedence between these has not been reliably established here

How New American Library marked a first edition

• First printing: the copyright page states 'First Printing' (often as 'First Signet printing, Month Year') with no later-printing lines; later printings stack the printing history. This explicit statement is the most reli…
• Signet/NAL adopted a descending number line; a complete line ending in 1 indicates a first printing. From roughly the 1970s on the 'First Signet printing, Month Year' line plus the number line appear together.

Full New American Library first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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?

The true first book form is unsettled between the Dramatists Play Service softcover and the NAL hardcover. The later Plume trade paperback is a reprint, not the first. Verify the specific copy against a dependable Shepard bibliography before assigning primacy.P-028717

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No trade book club edition identified. A separate Arion Press limited edition (300 copies, signed, illustrated by Stan Washburn) exists but is a distinct deluxe issue, not the trade first.P-028718

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Lie of the Mind a first edition?

A first edition of A Lie of the Mind by Sam Shepard (New American Library) is identified by: The earliest documented book publications date to the 1985-1986 period: a Dramatists Play Service acting-edition softcover (1986) and the New American Library / NAL Books hardcover, which pairs the play with The War in Heaven and is variously dated 1986 to 1987 by cataloguers (black cloth over boards, silver spine lettering, ISBN 0-453-00530-6).

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. The true first book form is unsettled between the Dramatists Play Service softcover and the NAL hardcover.

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

No trade book club edition identified. A separate Arion Press limited edition (300 copies, signed, illustrated by Stan Washburn) exists but is a distinct deluxe issue, not the trade first.

I have a first edition of A Lie of the Mind — 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.