Is My Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches a First Edition?

The points of issue

• TCG hardcover (ISBN 1-55936-060-7) and a simultaneous wrappered issue (ISBN 1-55936-061-5)
• Copyright page of the first printing states 'First Edition, April 1993' with no later-printing line
• The true-first hardcover dust jacket carries the original price on the front flap
• The hardcover is the more collectible state

How Theatre Communications Group marked a first edition

• 1984–c.2000 (TCG book program era; nonprofit founded as a theatre service organization in 1961, trade books from the mid-1980s): publishes single plays, anthologies, and theatre-craft books. First printing is indicated b…
• c.2000–present: continues the descending number line, lowest digit equals the printing, with First edition, MONTH YYYY on the verso. Distribution credits (the book has been carried by trade distributors and, more recentl…

Full Theatre Communications Group 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 TCG edition (April 1993) is generally taken as the true first in book form; a Nick Hern Books UK acting-text edition also appeared in 1993. Collect the stated 'First Edition, April 1993' TCG hardcover with a priced dust jacket.P-031734

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A US book-club hardcover does exist and is the most common confusion: book-club copies lack the price on the dust jacket flap and the volume is roughly a centimeter shorter than the true first. Also beware later TCG printings that add or advance a printing line, and the combined Part One/Part Two omnibus volumes (1995 onward), which are not the first.P-031735

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches a first edition?

A first edition of Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner (Theatre Communications Group) is identified by: TCG hardcover (ISBN 1-55936-060-7) and a simultaneous wrappered issue (ISBN 1-55936-061-5).

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 TCG edition (April 1993) is generally taken as the true first in book form; a Nick Hern Books UK acting-text edition also appeared in 1993.

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

A US book-club hardcover does exist and is the most common confusion: book-club copies lack the price on the dust jacket flap and the volume is roughly a centimeter shorter than the true first. Also beware later TCG printings that add or advance a printing line, and the combined Part One/Part Two omnibus volumes (1995 onward), which are not the first.

I have a first edition of Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches — 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.