Is My Berlin Game a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Hutchinson firsts state "First published 1983" (or "First published in Great Britain 1983") on the copyright page
• Hutchinson noted subsequent printings and did not add a number row until the late 1980s, so a genuine 1983 Hutchinson first shows the first-published line and no number line
• Bound in black boards with silver embossing to the spine and red endpapers and pastedowns
• The jacket carries the "corrupted fruit" image, illustrated by Hargrave Hands to Raymond Hawkey's design concept — some dealers credit the jacket to Hawkey outright, so both attributions appear in catalogue copy
• Priced jacket, with the price present at the front flap on the trade issue
• Octavo, 303/304pp

How Hutchinson marked a first edition

• About 1975 onward (within the Hutchinson Group, later under Random House from 1985): a descending number line on the copyright page typically accompanies 'First published in Great Britain 19xx by Hutchinson'; the lowest…

Full Hutchinson 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 UK 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?

The UK edition is the true first: Hutchinson, London, 13 October 1983 — the opening volume of the Game, Set & Match trilogy, followed by Mexico Set (Hutchinson, 22 October 1984) and London Match (1985). The first American edition is Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 5 January 1984 (ISBN 0394534077), self-identifying by Knopf's stated "First Edition" on the copyright page. The Hutchinson edition precedes by roughly three months, so a 1984 Knopf copy is a first American edition, not the first. The census claim is confirmed on both publisher and precedence.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The Deighton Dossier records a Hutchinson first print run of 40,000 copies, so first editions are readily found and any copy described as rare should be treated sceptically. No specific book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The two live traps are the yellow-wrappered Hutchinson proof being conflated with the first edition, and UK book-club reprints, which run to the standard signals — no price printed at the jacket flap, lighter boards, and cheaper bulking paper.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Berlin Game a first edition?

A first edition of Berlin Game by Len Deighton (Hutchinson) is identified by: Hutchinson firsts state "First published 1983" (or "First published in Great Britain 1983") on the copyright page; Hutchinson noted subsequent printings and did not add a number row until the late 1980s, so a genuine 1983 Hutchinson first shows the first-published line and no number line.

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). The UK edition is the true first: Hutchinson, London, 13 October 1983 — the opening volume of the Game, Set & Match trilogy, followed by Mexico Set (Hutchinson, 22 October 1984) and London Match (1985).

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

The Deighton Dossier records a Hutchinson first print run of 40,000 copies, so first editions are readily found and any copy described as rare should be treated sceptically. No specific book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The two live traps are the yellow-wrappered Hutchinson proof being conflated with the first edition, and UK book-club reprints, which run to the standard signals — no price printed at the jacket flap, lighter boards, and cheaper bulking paper.

I have a first edition of Berlin Game — 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.