Is My Elric of Melniboné a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition: London, Hutchinson & Co., published 4 September 1972
• 191 pp., blue cloth, ISBN 0-09-112100-0, issued in a dust wrapper with the price present at the flap
• Interior illustrations are by James Cawthorn and the jacket artwork is by Laurence Cutting — a wrapper carrying Michael Whelan or Robert Gould art is by definition a later American issue, never the first
• The copyright page shows the Hutchinson imprint with the 1972 date and no number line or later-printing statement, so the imprint, date and Cutting jacket carry the identification
• No first-state text error is documented in the sources consulted

How Hutchinson & Co. marked a first edition

• Late 1880s to about 1920: many firsts of this era carry no printing statement at all, so dating relies on the title-page date and on dated rear advertisement catalogs; later printings note reprints. Number lines do not a…
• About 1920 to about 1960: 'First published (year)' or 'First published in Great Britain (year)' on the copyright page; a first impression lists no reprints, while later printings add dated 'Reprinted' or 'New impression'…

Full Hutchinson & Co. 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 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 precedes and is the true first: Hutchinson (London), 1972 — the first Elric story published as a novel in book form. The first American appearance is a corrupt one: the Lancer paperback of 1972 retitled The Dreaming City, re-edited without Moorcock's permission and retitled without his approval, as DAW's own subsequent note records — a variant text, not an authorized first. Two later US editions are both collected and both are "first thus": DAW (New York, October 1976, 160 pp., Michael Whelan cover) is the first US printing of the authorized Hutchinson text, and Blue Star Publishers (Hartford, CT, 1977) is the first American hardcover — limited to 2,200 copies, red leather-like boards gilt-stamped, inserted colour frontispiece with tissue guard, illustrated by Robert Gould, issued in a slipcase without jacket. Name trap: The Dreaming City is also the title of Moorcock's 1961 Elric novelette in Science Fantasy 47, a different work entirely. Arrow (1973), Berkley, Ace, Grafton and Centipede Press issues are reprints or "first thus."

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club printing of the Hutchinson edition is documented in the sources consulted. The practical reprint tells are imprint and cover art: the Lancer "Dreaming City" wrapper, Whelan art (DAW 1976 onward) or Gould art (Blue Star 1977 and its descendants) each mark a non-first issue. The Blue Star 1977 is a limited edition and reads as important, but it is a "first thus" — first American hardcover and first US printing of the full text in cloth — not the first edition.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Elric of Melniboné a first edition?

A first edition of Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock (Hutchinson & Co.) is identified by: First edition: London, Hutchinson & Co., published 4 September 1972; 191 pp., blue cloth, ISBN 0-09-112100-0, issued in a dust wrapper with the price present at the flap.

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). UK precedes and is the true first: Hutchinson (London), 1972 — the first Elric story published as a novel in book form.

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

No book-club printing of the Hutchinson edition is documented in the sources consulted. The practical reprint tells are imprint and cover art: the Lancer "Dreaming City" wrapper, Whelan art (DAW 1976 onward) or Gould art (Blue Star 1977 and its descendants) each mark a non-first issue. The Blue Star 1977 is a limited edition and reads as important, but it is a "first thus" — first American hardcover and first US printing of the full text in cloth — not the first edition.

I have a first edition of Elric of Melniboné — 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.