Is My Cloud Atlas a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Sceptre (Hodder & Stoughton), London, 2004, ISBN 0-340-82277-5
• First printing has the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ending in 1 on the copyright page
• Bound in publisher's maroon cloth, the spine blocked in turquoise foil, with green decorative endpapers
• The dust jacket, designed by Kai and Sunny, is a priced, unclipped jacket with the printed price present at the front flap; a first-state copy retains the scarce original wrap-around promotional band
• Confirm the number line ending in 1, the maroon cloth with turquoise-foil spine, and the priced (unclipped) jacket

How Sceptre marked a first edition

• Follows Hodder & Stoughton conventions, which have consistently used 'First published in [year]' on firsts (with later printings noted) since 1976.

Full Sceptre 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 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?

REVERSE PRECEDENCE — UK precedes US here. Sceptre, London, 2004 is the true first. The first US edition (Random House, August 2004, ISBN 9780375507250) followed and, importantly for collectors, is a trade-paperback original with French flaps: Random House issued no US hardcover, so there is no 'US hardcover first.' Shortlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize.P-036580

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A number line not ending in 1 indicates a later printing. The US first carries the Random House imprint and is a softcover (French-flap trade paperback), not a hardcover. Film-tie-in and book-club editions are distinct and lack the maroon-cloth/turquoise-foil binding and the full 10-to-1 number line.P-036581

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Cloud Atlas a first edition?

A first edition of Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (Sceptre) is identified by: Sceptre (Hodder & Stoughton), London, 2004, ISBN 0-340-82277-5 (9780340822777).

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). REVERSE PRECEDENCE — UK precedes US here.

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

A number line not ending in 1 indicates a later printing. The US first carries the Random House imprint and is a softcover (French-flap trade paperback), not a hardcover. Film-tie-in and book-club editions are distinct and lack the maroon-cloth/turquoise-foil binding and the full 10-to-1 number line.

I have a first edition of Cloud Atlas — 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.