Is My Copy of A Time to Kill a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first: Wynwood Press, 1989, a small printing of about 5,000 copies — Grisham's debut
• Jacket points: the front cover/jacket carries the subtitle 'A Novel of Retribution'; the printed price is present at the front flap (unclipped); no later Grisham titles and no 'The Firm' are mentioned (there were none yet); barcode to the rear panel
• Binding: ocher (tan) paper-covered boards over a maroon spine cloth lettered in gilt
• Clearly distinct from the far more common later Doubleday edition

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. 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. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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 US Wynwood Press edition (1989) is the true first, Grisham's debut, issued before he became famous — hence the roughly 5,000-copy printing. The common Doubleday hardcover is a 1993 reissue ('first edition thus'), released after The Firm's success, and is NOT the true first.P-036902

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The 1993 Doubleday reissue (ISBN 0-385-47081-9) is bound in black cloth over blue paper-covered boards, carries a full number line and its own jacket price, and lacks the Wynwood imprint; a 350-copy Doubleday signed limited also exists (1993). Book-club copies typically show a blind-stamped dot on the rear board and no jacket price. Beware facsimile jackets married to non-Wynwood books — verify the Wynwood Press imprint and the ocher-boards/maroon-spine binding.P-036903

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Time to Kill a first edition?

A first edition of A Time to Kill by John Grisham (Wynwood Press) is identified by: True first: Wynwood Press, 1989, a small printing of about 5,000 copies — Grisham's debut.

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 US Wynwood Press edition (1989) is the true first, Grisham's debut, issued before he became famous — hence the roughly 5,000-copy printing.

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

The 1993 Doubleday reissue (ISBN 0-385-47081-9) is bound in black cloth over blue paper-covered boards, carries a full number line and its own jacket price, and lacks the Wynwood imprint; a 350-copy Doubleday signed limited also exists (1993). Book-club copies typically show a blind-stamped dot on the rear board and no jacket price. Beware facsimile jackets married to non-Wynwood books — verify the Wynwood Press imprint and the ocher-boards/maroon-spine binding.

I have a first edition of A Time to Kill — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.