Is My Axe Handles a First Edition?

The points of issue

• North Point Press first edition, San Francisco, 1983; poems
• Issued simultaneously in two forms: a clothbound hardcover in dust jacket (ISBN 0-86547-119-3) and a wrappered softcover (ISBN 0-86547-120-7)
• The cloth-in-jacket is the collected hardcover first; some hardcover copies are found signed by Snyder on the title page
• Snyder's first poetry collection following his 1975 Pulitzer for Turtle Island

How North Point Press marked a first edition

• Independent era (first books fall 1980 through ~1991): look for a stated 'First edition' or 'First printing' on the copyright page; many titles also carry a descending number line where the lowest digit present indicates…

Full North Point Press 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?

True first US edition of the poems; the clothbound hardcover in jacket (ISBN 0-86547-119-3) is the collected first, issued simultaneously with the wrappered softcover (ISBN 0-86547-120-7).P-009725

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book club edition; distinguish the two simultaneous first-edition issues by binding and ISBN, with the cloth-in-jacket the preferred collected form.P-009726

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Axe Handles a first edition?

A first edition of Axe Handles by Gary Snyder (North Point Press) is identified by: North Point Press first edition, San Francisco, 1983; poems.

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. True first US edition of the poems; the clothbound hardcover in jacket (ISBN 0-86547-119-3) is the collected first, issued simultaneously with the wrappered softcover (ISBN 0-86547-120-7).

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

No book club edition; distinguish the two simultaneous first-edition issues by binding and ISBN, with the cloth-in-jacket the preferred collected form.

I have a first edition of Axe Handles — 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.