Is My American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Knopf states 'First Edition' on the copyright page accompanied by the Borzoi colophon (Knopf house practice; no descending number line)
• Issued in cloth-backed boards with a price-bearing first-state dust jacket

How Alfred A. Knopf marked a first edition

• c.1970s onward (number-line era, added ALONGSIDE the words — it did not replace them): later Knopf firsts also carry a descending numeric printer's key (often with a manufacturing/printer code). A first printing shows th…

Full Alfred A. Knopf 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?

US Alfred A. Knopf (New York), 1997, is the true first edition. Won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, 1997.P-016905

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club editions generally lack the 'First Edition' statement and the printed jacket price and are often smaller and lighter than the trade first.P-016906

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson a first edition?

A first edition of American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis (Alfred A. Knopf) is identified by: Knopf states 'First Edition' on the copyright page accompanied by the Borzoi colophon (Knopf house practice; no descending number line).

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). US Alfred A.

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

Book-club editions generally lack the 'First Edition' statement and the printed jacket price and are often smaller and lighter than the trade first.

I have a first edition of American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson — 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.