Is My City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page and carries the Simon & Schuster even-then-odd printer's key 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 — the key must run down to and include 1
• Two independent dealers quote that exact key alongside the stated "First Edition"; the key, not the statement, settles the printing, and copies showing a truncated key are later printings
• Bound in black boards with gilt lettering to the spine, octavo, 485 pages, in a pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the flap (unclipped expected)
• Light sunning/toning to the top page edges is commonly reported even on fine copies

How Margaret K. McElderry Books / Simon & Schuster marked a first edition

• Late 1980s onward: number line on copyright page with '1' present (1 indicates first printing); 'First Edition' statement also frequently used alongside

Full Margaret K. McElderry Books / Simon & Schuster 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?

US Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster), New York, published 27 March 2007 — the true first. The UK issue from Walker Books (ISBN 9781406307627) followed and is a UK first, not the true first. Title-collision trap: Michael Connelly's City of Bones (Little, Brown, 2002) is an entirely unrelated novel and is frequently mis-catalogued against this record. Later McElderry printings are still dated 2007 on the title page and are often offered as "the printed pricet Edition" — check the printer's key.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The reprint tells are later McElderry printings carrying a truncated printer's key (still dated 2007), the UK Walker Books issue, and post-2013 film-era reissues.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) a first edition?

A first edition of City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare (Margaret K. McElderry Books / Simon & Schuster) is identified by: The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page and carries the Simon & Schuster even-then-odd printer's key 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 — the key must run down to and include 1.

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). US Margaret K.

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

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The reprint tells are later McElderry printings carrying a truncated printer's key (still dated 2007), the UK Walker Books issue, and post-2013 film-era reissues.

I have a first edition of City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) — 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.