Is My Einstein's Monsters a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Stated 'First published 1987'; issued by Jonathan Cape in boards with dust jacket, running to 127 pages
• A collection of five linked stories on nuclear themes, prefaced by the introductory essay 'Thinkability'
• The first-issue jacket reproduces Pieter Bruegel the Elder's painting 'The Tower of Babel' and should retain the printed price on the flap

How Jonathan Cape marked a first edition

• First printings state "First published [Year]" or "First published in Great Britain [Year]" on the copyright page with NO additional impression lines and traditionally NO number line
• Later printings noted by added lines (e.g. 'Second impression [year]', 'Reprinted...') — their presence disqualifies a first

Full Jonathan Cape 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 UK 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?

UK Cape (1987, 127 pp) is customarily taken as the true first; the US first edition appeared the same year (1987) from Harmony Books, New York, in a differently set text of 149 pages. The Cape edition is the customary first.P-020975

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No notable book-club edition concern; distinguish the UK first (Cape, 127 pp, Bruegel jacket) from the US Harmony issue by publisher, pagination and jacket art.P-020976

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Einstein's Monsters a first edition?

A first edition of Einstein's Monsters by Martin Amis (Jonathan Cape) is identified by: Stated 'First published 1987'; issued by Jonathan Cape in boards with dust jacket, running to 127 pages.

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. UK Cape (1987, 127 pp) is customarily taken as the true first; the US first edition appeared the same year (1987) from Harmony Books, New York, in a differently set text of 149 pages.

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

No notable book-club edition concern; distinguish the UK first (Cape, 127 pp, Bruegel jacket) from the US Harmony issue by publisher, pagination and jacket art.

I have a first edition of Einstein's Monsters — 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.