Is My A Stir of Echoes a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing carries "First Edition" stated on the copyright page; the imprint line reads J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia and New York
• Octavo (approx
• 5.5 x 8.25 in.), 220 pages, bound in black cloth with the title lettered in yellow on the spine — one ABAA-market dealer describes the spine lettering as light yellow-green, so allow for that range in describing the same binding
• The pictorial dust jacket is grey with red and white lettering to the front panel and spine, and a printed price is present at the front flap; price-clipped jackets are common and remove that check
• Any copy with a later-printing statement added to the copyright page, or lacking the stated "First Edition", is not the first

How J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia and New York marked a first edition

• From ~1925: printed 'First Edition' on the copyright page of books deemed important; novels and children's books often NOT so marked.
• Reliably indicated later printings ('Second Printing', 'Third Printing', etc.), so absence of a later-printing notice is a key signal for the unmarked titles.

Full J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia and New York 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 first: J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia and New York, 1958, with "First Edition" stated on the copyright page — this is the true first and the edition collected as such. The first British edition followed from Cassell, London, also dated 1958, and is collected in its own right as the first UK edition; Lippincott has precedence as the American author's original publisher. Later hardcovers, notably the Tor edition of 1999 issued alongside the David Koepp film, are "first thus" reprints and are regularly mis-described as firsts.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No title-specific book-club printing is documented in the ABAA dealer and auction descriptions consulted; a Detective Book Club omnibus reprint of the period is referenced in secondary sources but was not confirmed against a primary description. General period tells apply for screening a suspected club printing: absence of the stated "First Edition", a blind stamp or small impressed dot on the rear board, thinner and lighter boards than the trade issue, and a jacket with no printed price at the flap.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Stir of Echoes a first edition?

A first edition of A Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson (J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia and New York) is identified by: The first printing carries "First Edition" stated on the copyright page; the imprint line reads J.

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 first: J.

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

No title-specific book-club printing is documented in the ABAA dealer and auction descriptions consulted; a Detective Book Club omnibus reprint of the period is referenced in secondary sources but was not confirmed against a primary description. General period tells apply for screening a suspected club printing: absence of the stated "First Edition", a blind stamp or small impressed dot on the rear board, thinner and lighter boards than the trade issue, and a jacket with no printed price at the

I have a first edition of A Stir of Echoes — 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.