Is My Garden of Shadows a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Published by Poseidon Press (a Simon & Schuster imprint) in 1987 as the true first-edition hardcover with dust jacket (ISBN 0-671-64259-6)
• Pocket Books issued the Book Club Edition and the later mass-market paperback — neither is the true first

How Poseidon Press marked a first edition

• Poseidon was a Simon & Schuster imprint and follows S&S copyright-page practice: from 1981 onward S&S imprints identify the printing by a number line, not by a spelled-out 'First Edition' slug. Poseidon books generally d…
• In the S&S/Poseidon number line the LOWEST numeral present indicates the printing: a first printing still contains the '1'; a second printing drops the 1 (lowest is 2), and so on. This holds whether the line is the split…

Full Poseidon Press first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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 Poseidon Press 1987 hardcover is the true first edition. A Pocket Books hardcover exists but is the Book Club Edition (BCE); Pocket Books also published the mass-market paperback. Identify the first by the Poseidon Press imprint, a complete number line, and no book-club gutter code or blind-stamp.P-037408

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book club edition is a separate 1987 Pocket hardcover carrying a blind gilt stamp on the rear board and lacking the publisher's first-printing statement; distinguish it from the trade first.P-032060

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Garden of Shadows a first edition?

A first edition of Garden of Shadows by V.C. Andrews (Poseidon Press) is identified by: Published by Poseidon Press (a Simon & Schuster imprint) in 1987 as the true first-edition hardcover with dust jacket (ISBN 0-671-64259-6).

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). The Poseidon Press 1987 hardcover is the true first edition.

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

Book club edition is a separate 1987 Pocket hardcover carrying a blind gilt stamp on the rear board and lacking the publisher's first-printing statement; distinguish it from the trade first.

I have a first edition of Garden of Shadows — 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.