Is My Bones and Silence a First Edition?

The points of issue

• UK Collins (Crime Club) first, 1990: 'First published 1990' with a number line ending in 1; bound in blue cloth with gilt spine lettering and a pictorial dust jacket
• Eleventh Dalziel and Pascoe novel; it won the 1990 CWA Gold Dagger

How William Collins / Collins Crime Club marked a first edition

• After 1990 (HarperCollins) follow HarperCollins number-line conventions

Full William Collins / Collins Crime Club first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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?

UK Collins Crime Club 1990 is the true first; the US Delacorte edition is a first-thus / first American edition.P-025357

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

BCA / book-club editions and later printings are not firsts; club editions lack the jacket price and may carry a board code.P-025358

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Bones and Silence a first edition?

A first edition of Bones and Silence by Reginald Hill (William Collins / Collins Crime Club) is identified by: UK Collins (Crime Club) first, 1990: 'First published 1990' with a number line ending in 1; bound in blue cloth with gilt spine lettering and a pictorial dust jacket.

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). UK Collins Crime Club 1990 is the true first; the US Delacorte edition is a first-thus / first American edition.

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

BCA / book-club editions and later printings are not firsts; club editions lack the jacket price and may carry a board code.

I have a first edition of Bones and Silence — 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.