Is My Burnt Offerings a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Delacorte Press first printings of this period state "First printing" on the copyright page with no later printing noted; that statement is the operative test, and its absence — or the presence of any subsequent printing line — rules out a first
• Delacorte did not adopt a number line until later, so no number line should be expected on the 1973 issue
• Hardcover, 246 pages, in dust jacket; the jacket should be a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap
• This was Marasco's first novel
• An uncorrected proof precedes the trade first and is separately recorded by an ABAA dealer (Royal Books)
• CAUTION: granular binding and jacket points for this title are poorly documented — one retail listing gives a 381-page collation and an "ivory spine" binding that conflicts with the established 246-page collation and should not be relied on

How Delacorte Press, New York marked a first edition

• "First printing" or "First Edition" stated on the copyright page, frequently paired with a number line ending in 1
• Vonnegut-era Delacorte / Seymour Lawrence books: look for an explicit "First printing" statement on the copyright page (e.g. Slaughterhouse-Five is a stated first printing)

Full Delacorte Press, New York 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 true first is the US edition: Delacorte Press, New York, 1973 — the census claim is confirmed. A UK edition followed from Hodder & Stoughton, London, catalogued as 1973, with a Coronet paperback in 1974; because the Hodder issue may fall in the same year, the US Delacorte issue is the one conventionally treated as the true first and is the edition collected as such, but the exact UK release date is not firmly pinned by the sources consulted. Later Dell printings — including the 1976 film tie-in for the Karen Black / Oliver Reed adaptation — and the Valancourt reissue are "first thus" traps, not firsts.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No distinct Book Club Edition tells are documented for this title in the sources consulted. The practical reprint tells are the Dell mass-market printings and the 1976 Dell film tie-in, which are plainly identified by the Dell imprint and tie-in cover art rather than the Delacorte hardcover imprint. Absence of a documented BCE is not proof one was never issued — treat any Delacorte-imprint copy lacking the "First printing" statement as a later printing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Burnt Offerings a first edition?

A first edition of Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco (Delacorte Press, New York) is identified by: Delacorte Press first printings of this period state "First printing" on the copyright page with no later printing noted; that statement is the operative test, and its absence — or the presence of any subsequent printing line — rules out a first.

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 true first is the US edition: Delacorte Press, New York, 1973 — the census claim is confirmed.

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

No distinct Book Club Edition tells are documented for this title in the sources consulted. The practical reprint tells are the Dell mass-market printings and the 1976 Dell film tie-in, which are plainly identified by the Dell imprint and tie-in cover art rather than the Delacorte hardcover imprint. Absence of a documented BCE is not proof one was never issued — treat any Delacorte-imprint copy lacking the "First printing" statement as a later printing.

I have a first edition of Burnt Offerings — 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.