Is My Confessions of a Crap Artist a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Total edition of 1,000 copies, issued simultaneously in cloth and in wrappers
• The 500 hardbound copies carry the statement "First edition: 500 copies, cloth bound" on the copyright page — that line is the operative test
• Of those 500, 90 were signed by Dick on the copyright page and numbered; the remaining 410 are the unsigned trade copies, bound in burgundy cloth lettered in gilt (Currey binding A), collating x, 171 pp
• Issued without a dust jacket, so no jacket points apply
• The 500 paperbound copies were published at the same time as the hardbound, with cover art by Richard Powers, and are collected as the first paperback issue rather than as a later printing
• Introduction by Paul Williams

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. 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 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 small-press original, and the only mainstream (non-SF) novel Dick published in his lifetime; written c. 1959. There is no earlier or simultaneous edition in any territory and no original-language question. The first British publication is the Magnum Books paperback (London, 1979) — four years later and not a first edition. One live discrepancy: library cataloguing records the imprint place as Glen Ellen, California (Entwhistle's address; the 1978 Entwhistle printing is catalogued "Glen Ellen, CA : Entwhistle Books; Berkeley, CA : distributed by Bookpeople"), while L. W. Currey and several dealer catalogues give New York. Publisher and year are not in dispute; the census claim of Entwhistle Books 1975 stands.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented for this title. The reprint tell is Entwhistle's own 1978 printing (LCCN 78105009), with the same pagination; dealers report that later sheets were bound up without the "first edition" line, so a cloth copy lacking that copyright-page statement is not a first. All other appearances are plainly imprinted reprints: Magnum (London, 1979), Pocket Books (1982), Paladin (1989), Vintage (1992), Mariner (2012).

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Confessions of a Crap Artist a first edition?

A first edition of Confessions of a Crap Artist by Philip K. Dick (Entwhistle Books) is identified by: Total edition of 1,000 copies, issued simultaneously in cloth and in wrappers.

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. US small-press original, and the only mainstream (non-SF) novel Dick published in his lifetime; written c.

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

No book-club edition is documented for this title. The reprint tell is Entwhistle's own 1978 printing (LCCN 78105009), with the same pagination; dealers report that later sheets were bound up without the "first edition" line, so a cloth copy lacking that copyright-page statement is not a first. All other appearances are plainly imprinted reprints: Magnum (London, 1979), Pocket Books (1982), Paladin (1989), Vintage (1992), Mariner (2012).

I have a first edition of Confessions of a Crap Artist — 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.