Is My Copy of Dragonflight a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first of the complete novel is the Ballantine mass-market paperback original of July 1968, catalogue number U6124, 309 pp, in pictorial wrappers — no hardcover precedes it
• The first printing states "First Printing: July, 1968" on the copyright page and lists no later printing; there is no number line, and any added printing notice or a later Ballantine number (the second US paperback carries 345-02246-7) rules the copy out
• The novel is a fix-up of two Analog novellas — "Weyr Search" (Analog, October 1967, the cover story) and "Dragonrider" (Analog, 1967-68) — which precede the book in print but are magazine appearances, not a book edition
• Because this is a mass-market paperback on poor 1968 stock, sound copies with unrolled spines and intact wrappers are uncommon

How Ballantine Books marked a first edition

• Number line on copyright page; first printing has the '1' present. Modern PRH-era Ballantine uses the full descending line '9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' with no edition statement, OR with 'First Edition' stated.
• Mass-market paperback originals: copyright page reads 'First Edition: (Month Year)' or 'First Printing: (Month Year)' with NO later printings listed.

Full Ballantine Books 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?

US paperback original (Ballantine, July 1968) is the true first; the hardcovers all follow it. The first UK hardcover is Rapp & Whiting (London), jacket art by Lawrence Edwards — and here the sources conflict: library cataloguing dates it 1969 (Open Library, and the British National Bibliography note carried on the 1970 Corgi reprint reads "Originally published, New York, Ballantine... London, Rapp & Whiting, 1969"), while several dealers catalogue it as 1968. That discrepancy is unresolved, and the precedence between the Rapp & Whiting and the US Walker and Company (New York, 1969) hardcover therefore cannot be settled from the sources consulted — L. W. Currey catalogues the Walker as "first hardcover edition" without qualification. The Walker copyright page states "Published in the United States of America in 1969." Because the true first is a paperback, both hardcovers are separately collected; a dealer's unqualified "first hardcover" claim should be read against this conflict.P-038715

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The 1978 Del Rey hardcover with Michael Whelan's cover art is the copy most often mistaken for a first — it is a later edition by any definition, a decade after publication, and is not a first in any sense. The Corgi (London, 1970) paperback and all later Ballantine/Del Rey printings are reprints. Later Ballantine paperback printings retain the U6124-era text but add printing notices to the copyright page. No book-club issue of the Walker 1969 or Rapp & Whiting hardcovers is documented in the sources consulted.P-038716

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Dragonflight a first edition?

A first edition of Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey (Ballantine Books) is identified by: The true first of the complete novel is the Ballantine mass-market paperback original of July 1968, catalogue number U6124, 309 pp, in pictorial wrappers — no hardcover precedes it.

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). US paperback original (Ballantine, July 1968) is the true first; the hardcovers all follow it.

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

The 1978 Del Rey hardcover with Michael Whelan's cover art is the copy most often mistaken for a first — it is a later edition by any definition, a decade after publication, and is not a first in any sense. The Corgi (London, 1970) paperback and all later Ballantine/Del Rey printings are reprints. Later Ballantine paperback printings retain the U6124-era text but add printing notices to the copyright page.

I have a first edition of Dragonflight — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.