Is My Copy of Building Stories a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Large hardboard boxed set of 14 separately bound printed elements (cloth/board-bound books, broadsheets, pamphlets, an accordion-fold board)
• First printing identified by the complete number line printed on the inside of the box
• Pantheon imprint

How Pantheon Books marked a first edition

• Modern Pantheon (Knopf Doubleday / PRH): states 'First Edition' on the copyright page AND uses a descending number line ending in 1.
• A true first has both the 'First Edition' statement and the 1 present; reprints drop 'First Edition' and/or the 1.

Full Pantheon Books 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 Pantheon boxed set is the true first; the UK Jonathan Cape edition followed. No earlier precedence elsewhere.P-004752

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition. Later printings are indicated by a shorter number line on the inside of the box.P-004753

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Building Stories a first edition?

A first edition of Building Stories by Chris Ware (Pantheon Books) is identified by: Large hardboard boxed set of 14 separately bound printed elements (cloth/board-bound books, broadsheets, pamphlets, an accordion-fold board).

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 Pantheon boxed set is the true first; the UK Jonathan Cape edition followed.

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

No book-club edition. Later printings are indicated by a shorter number line on the inside of the box.

I have a first edition of Building Stories — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.