Is My Audrey Rose a First Edition?

The points of issue

• G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1975
• Putnam used no first-edition statement and no number line in 1975: the first printing is identified by the 1975 date together with the ABSENCE of any impression line on the copyright page — later printings insert 'Second Impression' and so on, and dealers do offer later Putnam printings of this title (Books on the Boulevard catalogues a 'Second Edition')
• Two independent publisher guides document the practice — Books Tell You Why and Quill & Brush / qbbooks — and Putnam did not adopt a number row until the mid-to-late 1980s
• Binding: publisher's purple (plum) cloth spine over orange paper-covered boards, spine titled in gilt, with a blind-embossed tombstone angel on the front board and orange endpapers
• 374 pp., octavo
• Jacket should be present and unclipped with the price present at the front flap

How G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York marked a first edition

• PRE-1928 (early independent house): Putnam printed NO first-edition statement. Identify a first by matching the copyright-page year to the title-page year with no reprint/later-printing notice on the copyright page. Afte…

Full G. P. Putnam's Sons, 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?

US first: G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1975 — the census claim is confirmed by Lorne Bair Rare Books and Rare Book Cellar independently, among others. De Felitta wrote in English and Putnam's is the originating imprint, so there is no original-language question; no UK hardcover preceding or contemporaneous with the Putnam issue was found in the records consulted. The 1977 film (Anthony Hopkins) generates tie-in reprints — any 'now a major motion picture' jacket, and any paperback, is later than the first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club copies dated 1975 under the Putnam imprint are common and are the principal trap; dealers routinely list 'First Book Club Edition' copies (Bookshop Apocalypse, Postmarked from the Stars, and Etsy/eBay listings among them). Because the Putnam first carries no printing statement, the discriminators are physical: club jackets carry no price at the front flap, club copies carry the standard blind-stamped impression on the lower rear board and are lighter and slightly smaller in trim, and the club binding is described in a red leatherette-textured board rather than the trade issue's purple cloth spine over orange paper boards. Note the blind-embossed tombstone angel is a feature of the TRADE binding — it is not a club tell, despite some listings conflating the two.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Audrey Rose a first edition?

A first edition of Audrey Rose by Frank De Felitta (G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York) is identified by: Putnam's Sons, New York, 1975.

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 first: G.

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

Book-club copies dated 1975 under the Putnam imprint are common and are the principal trap; dealers routinely list 'First Book Club Edition' copies (Bookshop Apocalypse, Postmarked from the Stars, and Etsy/eBay listings among them). Because the Putnam first carries no printing statement, the discriminators are physical: club jackets carry no price at the front flap, club copies carry the standard blind-stamped impression on the lower rear board and are lighter and slightly smaller in trim, and t

I have a first edition of Audrey Rose — 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.