Is My Cruel and Unusual a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing has "First Edition" stated on the copyright page with a complete number line descending to 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1)
• The binding is light gray boards with a black cloth spine lettered in red, and the author's name blind-stamped on the front board
• Issued in a pictorial dust jacket that should retain its printed price on the front flap (the true first is priced; a price-clipped copy is still a first, but the printed price should originally have been present)

How Charles Scribner's Sons marked a first edition

• After 1973 the letter code was abandoned in favor of a descending number line ending in 1.

Full Charles Scribner's Sons 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?

The US Charles Scribner's Sons edition (New York, 1993) is the true first; the fourth Kay Scarpetta novel.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club editions exist and are identified by an unpriced jacket flap and a blindstamp or small impressed dot on the rear board, lacking the stated "First Edition" line and the full number line to 1.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Cruel and Unusual a first edition?

A first edition of Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell (Charles Scribner's Sons) is identified by: The first printing has "First Edition" stated on the copyright page with a complete number line descending to 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 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). The US Charles Scribner's Sons edition (New York, 1993) is the true first; the fourth Kay Scarpetta novel.

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

Book-club editions exist and are identified by an unpriced jacket flap and a blindstamp or small impressed dot on the rear board, lacking the stated "First Edition" line and the full number line to 1.

I have a first edition of Cruel and Unusual — what should I do?

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 lost. To sell, see the author’s collecting guide. Either way, nothing collectible ends up in a landfill.

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.