Is My Anno Dracula a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the Simon & Schuster (London) 1992 hardcover in cloth with dust jacket
• L.W. Currey records the copyright-page statement 'First published in Great Britain by / Simon & Schuster Ltd in 1992', and the title page bears the multi-city imprint 'London, Sydney, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Toronto'
• First printing carries the complete number line on the copyright page in addition to that statement
• ISBN 0-671-71780-4
• The jacket should be priced with the price present at the front flap (unclipped)
• UK stock of this period commonly shows page tanning, which is characteristic and not a printing point

How Simon & Schuster, London marked a first edition

• ERA 3 — Number-line introduction (mid-1973–1980): S&S adopted a copyright-page number line. Read the lowest number present: a line whose lowest digit is 1 is a first printing (e.g. '1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10' or the descendin…
• ERA 4 — The signature non-sequential line (1981–present): S&S's hallmark line is the scrambled sequence '1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2'. The rule is presence-of-lowest-number, NOT last-digit: if 1 is present (as the lowest number…

Full Simon & Schuster, London 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 UK 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?

UK Simon & Schuster, London, 1992 precedes the US Carroll & Graf, New York, 1993 hardcover; this is corroborated independently by Newman's official site (johnnyalucard.com, which lists S&S 1992 hardback then Carroll & Graf 1993 hardback), by L.W. Currey, and by dealer listings describing 'First British edition, first printing'. Both the UK 1992 and the US 1993 are collected, the UK being the true first. The novel is itself an expansion of Newman's earlier novella Red Reign, so the 1992 book is the first appearance in expanded book form, not the first appearance of the material.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented in the sources consulted. 'First thus' traps: the Pocket Books UK paperback (1993) and Avon US paperback (1994) are reprints; the Titan Books 2011 paperback and later printings add substantial new material — a new afterword by Newman, annotations, articles and alternate endings — making them textually distinct first-thus editions rather than firsts. Titan also issued a signed 30th-anniversary hardback in 2022, which is a modern limited edition, not a first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Anno Dracula a first edition?

A first edition of Anno Dracula by Kim Newman (Simon & Schuster, London) is identified by: The true first is the Simon & Schuster (London) 1992 hardcover in cloth with dust jacket; L.W.

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). UK Simon & Schuster, London, 1992 precedes the US Carroll & Graf, New York, 1993 hardcover; this is corroborated independently by Newman's official site (johnnyalucard.com, which lists S&S 1992 hardback then Carroll & Graf 1993 hardback), by L.W.

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

No book-club edition documented in the sources consulted. 'First thus' traps: the Pocket Books UK paperback (1993) and Avon US paperback (1994) are reprints; the Titan Books 2011 paperback and later printings add substantial new material — a new afterword by Newman, annotations, articles and alternate endings — making them textually distinct first-thus editions rather than firsts. Titan also issued a signed 30th-anniversary hardback in 2022, which is a modern limited edition, not a first.

I have a first edition of Anno Dracula — 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.