Is My Earth Abides a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing is stated: "First Printing" appears on the copyright page, and its absence rules out the first
• Binding is a dark blue cloth spine over lighter blue cloth boards, blindstamped design motif to the front cover, lettered in silver to the spine; octavo, 373 pp
• The dust jacket carries the full-colour pictorial artwork by H. Lawrence Hoffman and is priced at the flap on the first issue — jacket presence and condition are the principal collecting concern for this title

How Random House marked a first edition

• Stated-edition era (c.1936–1975): trade first printings are plainly marked with the words 'First Edition' (or, on some earlier titles, 'First Printing') on the copyright page, with NO number line yet in use; a copyright…
• Divisional practice — share the STATEMENT, not the '2'-line: sister divisions state 'First Edition' as their firsts (Alfred A. Knopf consistently since 1933–34; Pantheon since 1964), so the words work across the family.…

Full Random House 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. 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 Random House edition (New York, 1949) is the true first and the census is correct on that point. The census's "UK Gollancz 1950" is NOT corroborated: multiple dealer listings, including a copy explicitly catalogued as the third printing of the first British edition, date the Victor Gollancz (London) edition to 1949, while other references cite a 1950 Gollancz printing. The UK year is therefore unsettled between 1949 and 1950; this does not disturb US precedence, since Stewart was an American author published first in New York. The book won the first International Fantasy Award (1951), as the census states.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Earth Abides was issued by the Science Fiction Book Club, and club printings are the most common trap. Book-club copies lack the stated "First Printing" on the copyright page; the standard club tells apply — a blindstamped dot or square on the rear board, cheaper bulked paper and smaller trim, and a jacket without a price at the flap. The Easton Press "Collector's Edition" (1991, full leather, gilt, artwork by Toni L. Taylor, introduction by Arthur O. Lewis) is a modern "first thus" and is regularly miscatalogued as a first edition.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Earth Abides a first edition?

A first edition of Earth Abides by George R. Stewart (Random House) is identified by: The first printing is stated: "First Printing" appears on the copyright page, and its absence rules out the first.

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 US Random House edition (New York, 1949) is the true first and the census is correct on that point.

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

Earth Abides was issued by the Science Fiction Book Club, and club printings are the most common trap. Book-club copies lack the stated "First Printing" on the copyright page; the standard club tells apply — a blindstamped dot or square on the rear board, cheaper bulked paper and smaller trim, and a jacket without a price at the flap. The Easton Press "Collector's Edition" (1991, full leather, gilt, artwork by Toni L. Taylor, introduction by Arthur O. Lewis) is a modern "first thus" and is regul

I have a first edition of Earth Abides — 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.