Is My First Blood a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The M. Evans first printing is an octavo of 252 pages, bound in publisher's boards with gray paper sides and a black cloth backstrip, the spine lettered in metallic red and orange, with a blue top-stain
• The title page reads M. Evans and Company, New York, with the line "distributed in association with J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia" — the correct reading for the 1972 issue
• The copyright page of the first printing carries no notice of a later printing; dealer descriptions of the M. Evans issue are not unanimous as to whether a number line is present, so identify by the binding above together with the absence of any later-printing statement rather than by a number line alone
• The jacket should be priced at the front flap (price present, not clipped)
• An advance uncorrected proof precedes the trade issue, bound in tall greenish-blue printed wrappers lettered in black

How M. Evans and Company marked a first edition

• First printings are generally identified by a number line on the copyright page, with the lowest digit (1) present indicating a first printing; where no line appears, the absence of any later-printing statement supports…

Full M. Evans and Company 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 M. Evans (New York, 1972) is the true first, and the census claim is confirmed. Morrell's own complete bibliography lists "M. Evans and Co. (American hardback), 1972" ahead of "Barrie and Jenkins (British hardback), 1972." The two appeared in the same year and the UK Barrie & Jenkins issue is separately collected as the first British edition; its jacket, painted by Michael Codd, is unusual in carrying no title or author on the front panel, both appearing on the rear. Later hardback issues are first-thus traps, not firsts: New English Library (UK) 1989, Armchair Detective Library 1990 (trade plus numbered 1-100 and lettered A-Z limited states, with a new author's introduction), Headline 1992, and Gauntlet Press 2015.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

First Blood was a Literary Guild alternate selection in 1972 per Morrell's own bibliography, so a US book-club edition exists and copies turn up regularly. Club copies are identified in the usual way for the period — no price ever printed at the jacket flap and a blind-stamped device (small square or dot) on the rear board — and the club book is smaller and lighter in bulk than the trade book. No club-specific textual variant is documented.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of First Blood a first edition?

A first edition of First Blood by David Morrell (M. Evans and Company) is identified by: Evans first printing is an octavo of 252 pages, bound in publisher's boards with gray paper sides and a black cloth backstrip, the spine lettered in metallic red and orange, with a blue top-stain.

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 M.

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

First Blood was a Literary Guild alternate selection in 1972 per Morrell's own bibliography, so a US book-club edition exists and copies turn up regularly. Club copies are identified in the usual way for the period — no price ever printed at the jacket flap and a blind-stamped device (small square or dot) on the rear board — and the club book is smaller and lighter in bulk than the trade book. No club-specific textual variant is documented.

I have a first edition of First Blood — 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.