2 Peter S. Beagle first editions are documented on this shelf, from A Fine and Private Place (1960) to The Last Unicorn (1968) across 2 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Peter S. Beagle 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 Peter S. Beagle copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.

A Fine and Private Place — 1960 · The Viking PressThe true first is the Viking Press hardcover, New York, 1960 — Beagle's first book, written in his early twenties. Viking's house practice is the identification key: from 1937 onward Viking placed a first-publication line on the copyright page (the form is 'First published by The Viking Press in [year]' / 'Published by The Viking Press in [year]') and, critically, noted every subsequent printing. A first printing…. US first, and the census claim on precedence is correct: The Viking Press, New York, 1960, is the true first — Beagle was American and Viking was his US publisher. The census's date for the UK is wrong, however: Frederick Muller Ltd., London, published the first UK hardcover in 1960, not 1961. The Muller printing is the English first and is collected separately in its own right — an uncorrected proof of it is…. No book-club (SFBC/BOMC) issue of the Viking first is documented in the sources consulted, so do not claim one. The reprint tells that do apply are Viking's own: because Viking noted each subsequent printing on the copyright page, any printing notation there marks a later Viking impression. Wikipedia reports a Delta trade paperback in the same year (1960) and a Corgi paperback followed in 1963; both are reprint….
The Last Unicorn — 1968 · Viking PressViking Press 1968, 'Published in 1968 by The Viking Press' on the copyright page with no additional printings stated. Dust jacket art; first state carries the original Viking price. First printing so stated/dated. US Viking 1968 true first. The UK Bodley Head (1968) is first British. First state identified by the Viking imprint with no later printing line. Book-club editions have the rear-board blind-stamp and no jacket price; later trade printings note additional impressions on the copyright page.

More Fantasy & Horror shelves: Peter Straub, Ramsey Campbell, Richard Bachman (Stephen King), Richard Laymon, Richard Matheson, Robert Aickman.

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