Is My A Wild Sheep Chase a First Edition?

The points of issue

• English true first is the Kodansha International 1989 hardcover, translated by Alfred Birnbaum (ISBN-10 0-87011-905-2 / ISBN-13 978-0-87011-905-7), in purple paper-covered boards with quarter green cloth and silver spine lettering, in the blue dust jacket with the ram design by Shigeo Okamoto (price present at the flap)
• It is the first Murakami novel published in English for the trade and the earliest collectible Murakami in English

How Kodansha International marked a first edition

• 1963–c.1990 (Kodansha International Ltd, Tokyo and New York): first printings are identified by an edition/printing statement on the copyright page rather than a number line. Many titles carry an explicit printing-histor…
• c.1990–2011: many later KI titles use a descending number line on the copyright page (lowest digit, typically '1', = first printing) together with a 'First published <year> by Kodansha International' statement and a 'Pri…

Full Kodansha International 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. Verify this is the UK 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 Kodansha International edition of 1989 (New York/Tokyo) is the true first edition in English; the UK edition (Hamish Hamilton, London) followed in 1990. The Japanese original, Hitsuji o meguru boken, was published in 1982. It is the third novel of the 'Trilogy of the Rat' but the first to be translated into English for the trade.P-036735

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Plume and Vintage International paperbacks, and later reissues, are reprints. Confirm the Kodansha quarter-green-cloth binding over purple boards, the Shigeo Okamoto ram-design jacket, the 1989 date, and the ISBN-10 0-87011-905-2 (ISBN-13 978-0-87011-905-7).P-036736

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Wild Sheep Chase a first edition?

A first edition of A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami (Kodansha International) is identified by: English true first is the Kodansha International 1989 hardcover, translated by Alfred Birnbaum (ISBN-10 0-87011-905-2 / ISBN-13 978-0-87011-905-7), in purple paper-covered boards with quarter green cloth and silver spine lettering, in the blue dust jacket with the ram design by Shigeo Okamoto (price present at the flap).

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 Kodansha International edition of 1989 (New York/Tokyo) is the true first edition in English; the UK edition (Hamish Hamilton, London) followed in 1990.

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

Plume and Vintage International paperbacks, and later reissues, are reprints. Confirm the Kodansha quarter-green-cloth binding over purple boards, the Shigeo Okamoto ram-design jacket, the 1989 date, and the ISBN-10 0-87011-905-2 (ISBN-13 978-0-87011-905-7).

I have a first edition of A Wild Sheep Chase — 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.