Is My Becoming a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The trade first printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a complete number line, commonly recorded as '1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2' (lowest number 1)
• ISBN 9781524763138, published November 13, 2018
• Distinct from the trade issue is the signed 'First Deluxe Edition' — a slipcased limited issue stated 'First Deluxe Edition' on the copyright page with added content ('A Note to Self,' two prints, a Miller Mobley portrait) — a separate state, not the ordinary first
• Because the first printing ran into the millions, collecting concentrates on signed copies rather than on scarcity of the first printing itself

How Crown marked a first edition

• Pre-1970s: NO first-edition statement; first printings identified by the ABSENCE of any later-printing notation on the copyright page. Later printings were noted.
• 1970s onward: began using both a number row AND the words 'First Edition'.

Full Crown 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 Crown (New York) and UK Viking (Penguin) published simultaneously on November 13, 2018; both are collected as firsts, with the signed US Crown first the usual focus. Confirm the number-line sequence on the copy in hand — the reliable anchor is the stated 'First Edition' with the line running to 1.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club, large-print, and later printings exist; a club or later copy lacks the 'First Edition' statement and the number line running to 1, and a club copy may show a rear-board blindstamp and a jacket without the flap price.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Becoming a first edition?

A first edition of Becoming by Michelle Obama (Crown) is identified by: The trade first printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a complete number line, commonly recorded as '1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2' (lowest number 1); ISBN 9781524763138, published November 13, 2018.

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 Crown (New York) and UK Viking (Penguin) published simultaneously on November 13, 2018; both are collected as firsts, with the signed US Crown first the usual focus.

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

Book-club, large-print, and later printings exist; a club or later copy lacks the 'First Edition' statement and the number line running to 1, and a club copy may show a rear-board blindstamp and a jacket without the flap price.

I have a first edition of Becoming — 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.