Is My Blankets a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, Top Shelf Productions, 2003, thick (approximately 582 pp.) softcover, ISBN 1-891830-43-0
• The key point of issue is the copyright page reading 'First Printing, July 2003' with the original Top Shelf imprint and price
• First-printing copies predate the later Top Shelf reprintings and the 2011 anniversary hardcover

How Top Shelf Productions marked a first edition

• Some collected editions also carry a descending number line on the copyright page; when present, the lowest digit indicates the printing (a '1' present = first printing). Treat the explicit printing statement as the prim…
• Post-2015 (under IDW ownership) editions follow IDW's dated printing-statement convention; pre-2015 independent editions carry the original Top Shelf indicia. Match the specific publisher and edition rather than the titl…

Full Top Shelf Productions 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 indicia — a first-printing single issue carries no later-printing line; a collected edition is “first thus,” not the true first.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

Format & printing

This title first appeared as a single issue / periodical, not a trade book. The true first is the first-printing single issue; later trade paperbacks or hardcover collections are “first thus.” Check the indicia (the small-print publication block) for a printing statement.

Is this the true first?

US true first. The 2011 hardcover anniversary edition is a separate later issue. Confirm the 'First Printing, July 2003' statement on the copyright page rather than relying on the date alone.P-005356

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition; later softcover printings carry revised printing statements. Confirm the 'First Printing, July 2003' wording on the copyright page.P-005357

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Blankets a first edition?

A first edition of Blankets by Craig Thompson (Top Shelf Productions) is identified by: First edition, Top Shelf Productions, 2003, thick (approximately 582 pp.) softcover, ISBN 1-891830-43-0 (9781891830433).

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. For a single issue, the indicia shows the printing. US true first.

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

No book-club edition; later softcover printings carry revised printing statements. Confirm the 'First Printing, July 2003' wording on the copyright page.

I have a first edition of Blankets — 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.