Is My Death Is a Lonely Business a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The Knopf trade issue states 'First Trade Edition' on the copyright page (not simply 'First Edition'); it is a 278-page octavo whose trade dust jacket should retain its printed flap price
• The distinct Franklin Library issue of the same year is a leather-bound presentation volume (full dark green leather, gilt geometric border, raised spine bands, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers and a sewn-in ribbon marker) issued without a dust jacket and signed by Bradbury for the First Edition Society

How Alfred A. Knopf marked a first edition

• c.1970s onward (number-line era, added ALONGSIDE the words — it did not replace them): later Knopf firsts also carry a descending numeric printer's key (often with a manufacturing/printer code). A first printing shows th…

Full Alfred A. Knopf 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. 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.
5. 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 true first is generally the signed Franklin Library issue (1985), which carries a special author's introduction found in no other edition and precedes/coincides with the Knopf trade. The Knopf 'First Trade Edition' is the first trade printing, not the overall first.P-025181

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club edition is identified by 'Book Club Edition' on the jacket flap and the absence of a printed price.P-025182

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Death Is a Lonely Business a first edition?

A first edition of Death Is a Lonely Business by Ray Bradbury (Alfred A. Knopf) is identified by: The Knopf trade issue states 'First Trade Edition' on the copyright page (not simply 'First Edition'); it is a 278-page octavo whose trade dust jacket should retain its printed flap price.

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 true first is generally the signed Franklin Library issue (1985), which carries a special author's introduction found in no other edition and precedes/coincides with the Knopf trade.

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

Book-club edition is identified by 'Book Club Edition' on the jacket flap and the absence of a printed price.

I have a first edition of Death Is a Lonely Business — 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.