Is My God Emperor of Dune a First Edition?

The points of issue

• CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED: the batch note asserted the trade edition was 'preceded by' the 750-copy signed limited
• Currey's bibliography of first printings records two printings with NO PRIORITY between them, so neither should be described as preceding the other
• (A) The limited: 750 copies signed by Herbert on the limitation leaf and numbered, bound in black cloth, issued WITHOUT a dust jacket in a matching black cloth slipcase
• (B) The trade: no statement of printing on the copyright page and no later-printing statements — the copyright year 1981 stands alone, with ISBN 0-399-12593-0 present
• Bound in quarter black cloth with gilt spine lettering over grey boards
• 411 pp., octavo; pictorial dust jacket designed by Brad Holland, priced at the flap

How G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York marked a first edition

• PRE-1928 (early independent house): Putnam printed NO first-edition statement. Identify a first by matching the copyright-page year to the title-page year with no reprint/later-printing notice on the copyright page. Afte…
• NUMBER-LINE ADOPTION (CONTESTED DATE): Putnam moved to a printer's-key number line on the copyright page. A complete ascending line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (all ten numerals present, lowest = 1) indicates a first printing,…

Full G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York 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. 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.
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 original, and the Putnam issue is the first appearance in book form. Within Putnam 1981 the signed limited and the trade are both collected and are of equal standing — no priority is established between them, and the census's precedence claim is not supported. Victor Gollancz, London, 1981 is the first UK edition and follows the US; it is separately collected but is not the true first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club tells are documented in the reference bibliographies for this title beyond the standard period conventions. Because the trade first has no printing statement to read, identification rests on the absence of any later-printing line, the 0-399-12593-0 ISBN, the quarter-black-cloth-over-grey-boards binding, and a Holland jacket priced at the flap; later Putnam printings add a printing statement or number line. The limited is unmistakable — signed limitation leaf, black cloth, no jacket, slipcase.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of God Emperor of Dune a first edition?

A first edition of God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert (G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York) is identified by: CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED: the batch note asserted the trade edition was 'preceded by' the 750-copy signed limited.

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 original, and the Putnam issue is the first appearance in book form.

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

No book-club tells are documented in the reference bibliographies for this title beyond the standard period conventions. Because the trade first has no printing statement to read, identification rests on the absence of any later-printing line, the 0-399-12593-0 ISBN, the quarter-black-cloth-over-grey-boards binding, and a Holland jacket priced at the flap; later Putnam printings add a printing statement or number line. The limited is unmistakable — signed limitation leaf, black cloth, no jacket,

I have a first edition of God Emperor of Dune — 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.