Is My Camp Concentration a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing states "First published 1968" on the copyright page with no later-impression line
• Octavo, 177 pages, bound in scarlet publisher's cloth with gilt titling to the spine
• The dust jacket carries a silver and scarlet alchemical design, jacket design credited to Ken Reilly; the jacket is priced, with the price present at the flap on unclipped copies
• Signed prepublication uncorrected proof copies of the Hart-Davis edition are recorded and precede the published book

How Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd., London marked a first edition

• c.1965-1972: Same dated 'First published' convention; a first impression carries no additional impression statement.

Full Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd., London 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. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the UK 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 UK Rupert Hart-Davis edition of 1968 is the true first book edition and precedes the US first (Doubleday, Garden City, New York, 1969) by a year — the census claim is correct and is confirmed independently by L.W. Currey and Burnside Rare Books. Both editions are collected, the Hart-Davis as the true first and the Doubleday as the first American. Note the genuine first appearance of the text is serial, not book: Camp Concentration ran as a four-part serial in New Worlds, July–October 1967, under Michael Moorcock's editorship, so the magazine appearance precedes both book editions.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue of the Hart-Davis UK first is documented. Book-club tells apply on the US side: Doubleday-era club printings of this period are identified by a blind-stamped square or similar device at the lower corner of the rear board, absence of any price at the jacket flap, "Book Club Edition" printed at the jacket flap corner, and frequently a smaller trim than the trade issue. Doubleday used gutter codes on the last page of text for both trade and club printings from 1958 to mid-1987, which can further separate the two.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Camp Concentration a first edition?

A first edition of Camp Concentration by Thomas M. Disch (Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd., London) is identified by: The first printing states "First published 1968" on the copyright page with no later-impression line.

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

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The UK Rupert Hart-Davis edition of 1968 is the true first book edition and precedes the US first (Doubleday, Garden City, New York, 1969) by a year — the census claim is correct and is confirmed independently by L.W.

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

No book-club issue of the Hart-Davis UK first is documented. Book-club tells apply on the US side: Doubleday-era club printings of this period are identified by a blind-stamped square or similar device at the lower corner of the rear board, absence of any price at the jacket flap, "Book Club Edition" printed at the jacket flap corner, and frequently a smaller trim than the trade issue. Doubleday used gutter codes on the last page of text for both trade and club printings from 1958 to mid-1987, w

I have a first edition of Camp Concentration — 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.