Is My Copy of Cages a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First complete one-volume collected edition, Kitchen Sink Press, 1998, gathering the ten-issue series (issues 1-10, Tundra then Kitchen Sink, 1990-1996) into a single hardcover of roughly 500 pages
• First printing identified by the Kitchen Sink 1998 indicia with no later-printing statement
• A signed and numbered limited hardcover, issued in a slipcase with an audio CD of McKean's music bound in and signed by McKean (limited to 1000 copies), is a distinct collectible state alongside the standard trade hardcover

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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 world 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?

The single issues (Cages 1-10, 1990-1996) are the true first appearances of the work; the 1998 Kitchen Sink one-volume is the first complete book edition. Later NBM (2002) and Dark Horse (2010) collected editions are 'first thus.'P-005723

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition. Confirm the Kitchen Sink Press 1998 imprint for the first complete edition; distinguish the standard trade hardcover from the signed/numbered slipcased state with CD.P-005724

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Cages a first edition?

A first edition of Cages by Dave McKean (Kitchen Sink Press) is identified by: First complete one-volume collected edition, Kitchen Sink Press, 1998, gathering the ten-issue series (issues 1-10, Tundra then Kitchen Sink, 1990-1996) into a single hardcover of roughly 500 pages.

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

Check the copyright page. For a single issue, the indicia shows the printing. The single issues (Cages 1-10, 1990-1996) are the true first appearances of the work; the 1998 Kitchen Sink one-volume is the first complete book edition.

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

No book-club edition. Confirm the Kitchen Sink Press 1998 imprint for the first complete edition; distinguish the standard trade hardcover from the signed/numbered slipcased state with CD.

I have a first edition of Cages — 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.