Is My Ghost Story a First Edition?

The points of issue

• US Coward, McCann & Geoghegan hardcover, 1979
• Coward-McCann firsts of this period are identified by the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page rather than by a printed number line, so a true first shows no added printing notice
• The dust jacket carries its printed price on the front flap

How Coward, McCann & Geoghegan marked a first edition

• After 1935: 'First American Edition' stated on the copyright page for books first published OUTSIDE the US; NO statement made on books first published in the US (so a US-first book carries no edition statement at all).

Full Coward, McCann & Geoghegan 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. 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?

The US Coward, McCann & Geoghegan edition (1979) is the true first and precedes the UK Jonathan Cape edition (a reversal from Straub's earlier UK-first titles). Underwood-Miller later issued a signed limited edition, which is a first thus rather than the true first.P-024670

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club editions are smaller and lighter, lack the printed jacket price, and typically carry a blind-stamp on the rear board. Confirm a first by the priced jacket and the absence of any later-printing statement.P-024671

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Ghost Story a first edition?

A first edition of Ghost Story by Peter Straub (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan) is identified by: US Coward, McCann & Geoghegan hardcover, 1979.

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 US Coward, McCann & Geoghegan edition (1979) is the true first and precedes the UK Jonathan Cape edition (a reversal from Straub's earlier UK-first titles).

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

Book-club editions are smaller and lighter, lack the printed jacket price, and typically carry a blind-stamp on the rear board. Confirm a first by the priced jacket and the absence of any later-printing statement.

I have a first edition of Ghost Story — 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.