Is My At the Earth's Core a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is Chicago, A. C. McClurg & Co., 1922, issued 22 July 1922
• Copyright page of the first printing reads 'Published July, 1922'; dealer descriptions additionally record the printer credit 'M. A. DONOHUE & CO., PRINTERS AND BINDERS, CHICAGO' on the copyright page (consistently reported, but drawn from a common trade description — corroborate against the copy in hand before relying on it alone)
• Collation: octavo, [1-8] 1-277 [278: blank] [279-282: ads], with NINE inserted sepia plates by J. Allen St
• Binding: original gray-green cloth, front and spine panels stamped in black
• Jacket is a four-colour pictorial by St
• First print run reported at 17,000 copies against roughly 115,000 McClurg copies across all printings, so the 'Published July, 1922' line plus the nine-plate count and gray-green cloth must be checked together

How A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago marked a first edition

• 1900-1930s: continued reliance on the dated title page; later printings often added 'Published (month, year)' impression lines on the copyright page, so absence of such later dates indicates a first printing. For key tit…

Full A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago 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 original, and the first book of the Pellucidar series — the McClurg Chicago 1922 edition is the true first in book form and precedes any English edition. The text first appeared as a four-part serial in All-Story Weekly, 4–25 April 1914. A Methuen (London) edition is reported to have followed in February 1923; that date rests on a single secondary source here and is NOT independently confirmed — cite the McClurg 1922 as the first and treat the Methuen year as unverified.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Grosset & Dunlap reprinted from 1923 and repeatedly thereafter. The quickest tell is the plate count: the G&D reprints carry only EIGHT interior plates against the McClurg first's nine, alongside the G&D imprint on the title page and at the spine foot. No book-club issue is documented for this title.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of At the Earth's Core a first edition?

A first edition of At the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs (A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago) is identified by: The true first is Chicago, A.

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 original, and the first book of the Pellucidar series — the McClurg Chicago 1922 edition is the true first in book form and precedes any English edition.

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

Grosset & Dunlap reprinted from 1923 and repeatedly thereafter. The quickest tell is the plate count: the G&D reprints carry only EIGHT interior plates against the McClurg first's nine, alongside the G&D imprint on the title page and at the spine foot. No book-club issue is documented for this title.

I have a first edition of At the Earth's Core — 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.