Is My Breathless a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Bantam trade hardcover, published November 24, 2009
• The first printing states First Edition on the copyright page above a split number line reading 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1, so the low number 1 is present in the odd-descending half
• ISBN 978-0-553-80715-8, 337 pages
• Issued in cloth-backed boards under a priced pictorial dust jacket; a first-issue jacket retains the original printed price on the front flap and is unclipped

How Bantam marked a first edition

• Bantam used a code on the copyright page indicating printing and date in some eras; in the modern era a descending number line ending in '1' marks the first printing.
• Mass-market originals: the paperback is the first edition; reprints of hardcovers are firsts-thus only.

Full Bantam 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?

The Bantam US trade hardcover is the true first. The book itself announces "a signed, limited edition has been privately published by Charnel House," but Joe Stefko of Charnel House confirms no such edition was ever produced, so the Bantam trade stands alone as the first.P-006071

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A Book Club Edition (Bantam, book club identifier 1279559) and a Large Print Book Club Edition (Random House Large Print, identifier 1283735) exist; both lack the 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 copyright-page number line and carry no printed price on the jacket. A 2010 Bantam mass-market paperback also carries the 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 line but is the paperback, not the hardcover first.P-006072

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Breathless a first edition?

A first edition of Breathless by Dean Koontz (Bantam) is identified by: Bantam trade hardcover, published November 24, 2009.

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 Bantam US trade hardcover is the true first.

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

A Book Club Edition (Bantam, book club identifier 1279559) and a Large Print Book Club Edition (Random House Large Print, identifier 1283735) exist; both lack the 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 copyright-page number line and carry no printed price on the jacket. A 2010 Bantam mass-market paperback also carries the 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 line but is the paperback, not the hardcover first.

I have a first edition of Breathless — 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.