2 William Goldman first editions are documented on this shelf, from The Princess Bride (1973) to Marathon Man (1974) across 2 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that William Goldman 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 William Goldman copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.

The Princess Bride — 1973 · Harcourt Brace JovanovichHarcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973, the genre-blending romance/adventure 'good parts version.' The true first states 'First edition' on the copyright page together with the Harcourt letter line beginning with B (the sequence B C D E). First-state dust jacket priced on the front flap; jacket art by Wendell Minor. Octavo, gray cloth, about 308 pages. The text is framed as an abridgement of 'S. Morgenstern.'. The US HBJ first is the true first. Confirm both the 'First edition' statement and the letter line beginning with B; Harcourt used a descending letter line rather than numbers, so the leading 'B' marks the first printing. Book-club copies lack the jacket price and may carry a blind stamp. Later printings advance the letter line past B or drop the first-edition statement. Confirm the 'First edition' statement plus the B-letter line and the priced first-state jacket.
Marathon Man — 1974 · Delacorte Press"First printing" is stated on the copyright page of the true first, with no reference to any later printing. The book collates 309 pages, bound in black cloth lettered on the spine in silver and neon violet, with a red top-stain. The jacket was designed by Paul Bacon and is predominantly red; the rear panel carries a photograph of Goldman with the ISBN at the lower right and no review blurbs — later jackets add…. US Delacorte Press (New York, 1974) is the true first — this part of the census claim is confirmed — but the census note's UK year is wrong and is corrected here. The first UK edition is Macmillan (London, 1975), a year after Delacorte, not a 1974 simultaneous, under a jacket designed by Stan Fernandes. The Macmillan issue is separately collected as the first British edition. Later Ballantine and other trade…. No book-club-specific point is documented for this title in the sources consulted. US club copies of Delacorte titles of this period are identified in the usual way — no price at the jacket flap and a blind-stamped square or dot on the rear board, with lighter bulk and lower-grade paper than the trade book. Note that a previous owner's personal blindstamp at the half title is a provenance mark, not a club tell,….

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