Is My Adventures in Time and Space (eds. Healy & McComas) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing, June 1946, collating 997 pp
• Random House used no 'First Edition' statement in this period (that practice began only in 1968) and no number line, so the first printing is identified negatively: 'Copyright, 1946, by Random House' on the copyright page with NO later-printing or reprint statement present, together with the full 997-pp collation
• The decisive point is the dust jacket, which exists in two states
• FIRST STATE (withdrawn quickly and scarce) carries two errors: the painted subtitle on the front panel begins '36 Non-Fiction Stories of the Future', and the printed blurb on the front flap begins 'A collection of thirty-four stories'
• SECOND STATE corrects both: the subtitle is re-painted to '35 Science-Fiction Stories of the Future' and the flap blurb begins 'A collection of thirty-five stories'
• The book itself is identical under either jacket, and first-printing books are found in both states

How Random House, New York marked a first edition

• Stated-edition era (c.1936–1975): trade first printings are plainly marked with the words 'First Edition' (or, on some earlier titles, 'First Printing') on the copyright page, with NO number line yet in use; a copyright…
• Divisional practice — share the STATEMENT, not the '2'-line: sister divisions state 'First Edition' as their firsts (Alfred A. Knopf consistently since 1933–34; Pantheon since 1964), so the words work across the family.…

Full Random House, 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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
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?

Census claim confirmed. Random House (New York, 1946) is the true first edition — a US original with no UK or foreign-language predecessor, so only the US edition is collected and there is no competing first to name. Later editions are all separate and at best 'first thus': the Modern Library issue of 1957, retitled 'Famous Science-Fiction Stories: Adventures in Time and Space', and the Ballantine/Del Rey reissue of 1975.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The key reprint tell is collation. A copy collating 824 pp, with the last five stories absent, is a later shortened printing and never the first. Sources conflict on when that shortened text appeared — dealer collations attribute it to the fourth printing of August 1950, while Wikipedia describes a shortened 'second edition' issued in 1946 — but the 997-pp versus 824-pp distinction is decisive regardless of which date is right. Any copy lacking the full 997 pp is not the first printing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Adventures in Time and Space (eds. Healy & McComas) a first edition?

A first edition of Adventures in Time and Space (eds. Healy & McComas) by Raymond J. Healy & J. Francis McComas (editors) (Random House, New York) is identified by: First printing, June 1946, collating 997 pp.

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

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). Census claim confirmed.

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

The key reprint tell is collation. A copy collating 824 pp, with the last five stories absent, is a later shortened printing and never the first. Sources conflict on when that shortened text appeared — dealer collations attribute it to the fourth printing of August 1950, while Wikipedia describes a shortened 'second edition' issued in 1946 — but the 997-pp versus 824-pp distinction is decisive regardless of which date is right. Any copy lacking the full 997 pp is not the first printing.

I have a first edition of Adventures in Time and Space (eds. Healy & McComas) — 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.