Is My Dictionary of the Khazars a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is Hazarski rečnik: roman-leksikon u 100.000 reči, Prosveta, Belgrade, 1984, 242 pages, and it was issued from the outset in two versions — muški primerak (male copy) and ženski primerak (female copy)
• Pavić's official site and his own essay on the book's life both state that it appeared in 1984 in both the male and the female version, with the reader given the choice of which to read, so the version designation on the 1984 title page is a point of issue, not a later marketing device
• The first edition in English is Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel in 100,000 Words, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1988, translated by Christina Pribicevic-Zoric, 338 pages, ISBN 0-394-57183-5, likewise published simultaneously in male and female editions with the version stated on the title page ('Male Edition' / 'Female Edition'), a few black-and-white illustrations and symbol-decorated endpapers
• Knopf firsts state 'First American Edition' on the copyright page with the Borzoi colophon and no later-printing statement; the jacket should be present and unclipped with the price at the flap
• The two versions differ in a single passage in Dr
• Dorothea Schultz's letter; published accounts give the extent as 15 lines or as 17 lines and do not agree, so cite the passage rather than a line count

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?

Serbian is the true first (Prosveta, Belgrade, 1984), and the census note is incomplete rather than wrong: the male/female split is not a Knopf invention — it originates with the 1984 Belgrade original. For English the US precedes: Knopf, New York, 1988, ahead of the London editions recorded on the author's official bibliography (Hamish Hamilton, 1989, and Penguin, 1989). A complete set requires both the male and the female version at whichever level is collected — 1984 Belgrade and/or 1988 New York; a single version is an incomplete set by the author's own design.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The combined first printing of the Knopf male and female editions is recorded at 40,000 copies, so a book-club issue is not the usual trap here. The usual trap is the Vintage International paperback (ISBN 0-679-72461-3), which carries the same male/female split and is routinely offered as a 'first edition'. The later 'androgynous' (androgino) edition, which prints both versions together in one volume, is a first thus and cannot substitute for either the 1984 or the 1988 paired variants.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Dictionary of the Khazars a first edition?

A first edition of Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić (Prosveta, Belgrade) is identified by: The true first is Hazarski rečnik: roman-leksikon u 100.000 reči, Prosveta, Belgrade, 1984, 242 pages, and it was issued from the outset in two versions — muški primerak (male copy) and ženski primerak (female copy).

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. Serbian is the true first (Prosveta, Belgrade, 1984), and the census note is incomplete rather than wrong: the male/female split is not a Knopf invention — it originates with the 1984 Belgrade original.

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

The combined first printing of the Knopf male and female editions is recorded at 40,000 copies, so a book-club issue is not the usual trap here. The usual trap is the Vintage International paperback (ISBN 0-679-72461-3), which carries the same male/female split and is routinely offered as a 'first edition'. The later 'androgynous' (androgino) edition, which prints both versions together in one volume, is a first thus and cannot substitute for either the 1984 or the 1988 paired variants.

I have a first edition of Dictionary of the Khazars — 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.