Is My Getting Off a First Edition?

The points of issue

Credited to 'Lawrence Block writing as Jill Emerson.' Subtitled 'A Novel of Sex and Violence.' Issued in 2011 in both a hardcover original and a softcover; the hardcover was Hard Case Crime's first-ever hardcover original.

How Hard Case Crime marked a first edition

• Mass-market and trade paperback originals with pulp-style painted covers; copyright page carries a printing statement and/or number line. First printing shows 'First Hard Case Crime edition' (or 'First edition') and a nu…
• Each title has a series number (the 'HCC-0xx' designation) — useful for series collecting but the printing is set by the copyright-page line.

Full Hard Case Crime first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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 Hard Case Crime is the true first publisher. Both the hardcover original and the paperback were issued in the same year as first-format publications; collectors typically prize the hardcover original as the more notable first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition of concern. Distinguish only by format (hardcover original versus paperback) rather than by later printings.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Getting Off a first edition?

A first edition of Getting Off by Lawrence Block (Hard Case Crime) is identified by: Credited to 'Lawrence Block writing as Jill Emerson.' Subtitled 'A Novel of Sex and Violence.' Issued in 2011 in both a hardcover original and a softcover; the hardcover was Hard Case Crime's first-ever hardcover original.

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. US Hard Case Crime is the true first publisher.

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

No book-club edition of concern. Distinguish only by format (hardcover original versus paperback) rather than by later printings.

I have a first edition of Getting Off — what should I do?

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 lost. To sell, see the author’s collecting guide. Either way, nothing collectible ends up in a landfill.

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.