10 Kazuo Ishiguro first editions are documented on this shelf, from A Pale View of Hills (1982) to Klara and the Sun (2021) across 4 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Kazuo Ishiguro title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.
Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a Kazuo Ishiguro copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- A Pale View of Hills — 1982 · Faber & FaberLondon: Faber & Faber, 1982. Ishiguro's first novel and scarce. Boards with gilt spine titles; first-issue dust jacket with its printed price to the flap, unclipped. Copyright page states 'First published in 1982' with no later-impression statement. The UK Faber edition (1982) is the true first, preceding the US Putnam edition (1982). The debut is the scarcest Ishiguro first. Later impressions add a printing statement; book-club copies lack the priced first-issue jacket.
- An Artist of the Floating World — 1986 · Faber and FaberFaber & Faber London 1986. First printing with the number line ending in '1' on the copyright page. First state carries the printer's imprint of Butler & Tanner Ltd (the later state is printed by Richard Clay). Bound in original black boards, backstrip lettered in gilt, with dust jacket bearing its printed price. UK first precedes the US Putnam 1986 edition. Faber London 1986 is the true first; G.P. Putnam's Sons New York 1986 is the first US. The first-state Butler & Tanner printing is the preferred copy. Later impressions are shown by the number line and by the Richard Clay printer's imprint of the second state; the US edition is distinguished by the Putnam imprint. Ishiguro's debut 'A Pale View of Hills' (Faber 1982) is scarcer still.
- The Remains of the Day — 1989 · Faber and FaberFaber & Faber London 1989 (Booker Prize winner). First printing copyright page should show the full number line ending in '1' and no statement of later impression. Publisher's boards, dust jacket with its printed price. Faber London 1989 is the true first; Alfred A. Knopf New York 1989 is the first US. Signed first printings are sought after. A number line not ending in '1', or a 'reprinted' statement, denotes a later impression; US Knopf edition carries a different imprint and jacket. Book club editions lack the priced Faber jacket.
- The Remains of the Day (US first, Knopf) — 1989 · Alfred A. KnopfUS first edition, Alfred A. Knopf, published 4 October 1989. 'First American Edition' stated on the copyright page. Grey boards with blue cloth spine and silver foil lettering, top edge tinted red; dust jacket carries the printed front-flap price. This US printing FOLLOWS the UK Faber first edition (spring 1989) and is included so US-first copies are not mistaken for the true first. This Knopf edition is NOT the true first — the UK Faber 1989 edition precedes it. Listed here for disambiguation only. Distinguished from the UK true first by the 'First American Edition' statement, the printed US jacket price, and the Knopf imprint. A Book-of-the-Month-Club US issue (lacking the printed jacket price, with the blind-stamped dot to the rear board) also exists and should not be confused with the trade first.
- The Unconsoled — 1995 · Faber & FaberLondon and Boston: Faber & Faber, 1995. Boards with gilt spine titles; first-issue dust jacket with its printed price to the flap, unclipped. Copyright page reads 'First published in 1995' with a complete descending number line; the lowest digit '1' present indicates a first impression. The UK Faber edition (1995) precedes the US Knopf edition (1995). On later impressions the lowest number is absent from the number line; the US Knopf edition is a separate setting.
- When We Were Orphans — 2000 · Faber & FaberCloth-backed boards, gilt spine lettering; copyright page carries a full number line ending in 1 with no statement of later impression; dust jacket priced 16.99 net on the front flap. Booker Prize shortlisted. The UK Faber first edition (2000) precedes the US Knopf edition (2000) and is the true first. Later impressions add an impression statement and/or remove the 1 from the number line.
- Never Let Me Go — 2005 · Faber and FaberFaber & Faber London 2005. First printing with the full number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' on the copyright page (ending in '1'). Bound in publisher's dark green paper-covered boards, stamped in ecru to the spine, with mustard endpapers; dust jacket carries its printed price. UK first precedes the US Knopf 2005 edition. Faber London 2005 is the true first; Alfred A. Knopf New York 2005 is the first US. A number line not ending in '1' indicates a later printing; the US edition carries the Knopf imprint. A signed limited Faber issue, the members' green paper-covered edition (issued without a jacket), and film-tie-in printings are all distinct from the trade first.
- Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall — 2009 · Faber & FaberIshiguro's first story collection; boards with gilt spine lettering; copyright page carries a full number line ending in 1 (first impression) with no later-impression statement; dust jacket priced 14.99 net. The UK Faber first edition (2009) precedes the US Knopf edition (2009) and is the true first. Later impressions add an impression statement and/or drop the 1 from the number line.
- The Buried Giant — 2015 · Faber and FaberFaber & Faber, London, 2015. First edition, first impression. The copyright page carries Faber's characteristic even-then-odd number line reading 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 (ending in '1'), the standard first-printing key for this house. Issued in publisher's boards, approximately 345 pages, in the original pictorial dust jacket which should carry its printed price on the front flap (price present rather than clipped…. The Faber & Faber London 2015 printing is the true first; Alfred A. Knopf New York issued the first US edition in 2015, published nearly simultaneously, so confirm the Faber imprint and London place of publication on the title and copyright pages to distinguish the true first from the US first. A number line that does not descend to and end in '1' (for example one beginning 2 4 6 8) indicates a later Faber impression; the US edition carries the Knopf imprint and a New York place of publication.
- Klara and the Sun — 2021 · Faber & FaberUK Faber first printing: copyright page reads First published in 2021 by Faber & Faber, with a number line retaining the 1. Reddish-pink paper-covered boards, spine stamped in black, black endpapers; issued in a Faber-designed dust jacket. Published 2 March 2021. UK Faber and US Knopf were both published 2 March 2021. As Ishiguro is a British author, the Faber edition is conventionally treated as the true first; the US Knopf (which states First Edition) is a first American edition. Confirm via the Faber imprint and the number line retaining the 1. No book-club edition. Multiple simultaneous UK jacket variants exist (trade, Waterstones, and Independent Bookshop editions) with no established priority among them; verify the trade first against the imprint and number line.
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