Is My Hannibal a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The Delacorte Press, New York, 1999 hardcover (486 pp.) states 'June 1999' on the copyright page above a full number line; the first printing requires the 1 to be present in that line — the dated statement alone carries forward and does not establish the printing
• Binding is black cloth backing red paper-covered boards with the title in gilt on the spine and the author's name in gilt on the front board, with red marbled endpapers
• A first-issue jacket is unclipped with the price present at the front flap
• The first UK edition (William Heinemann, London, 1999) is also 486 pp. with jacket artwork credited to Craig Decamps

How Delacorte Press marked a first edition

• "First printing" or "First Edition" stated on the copyright page, frequently paired with a number line ending in 1
• Vonnegut-era Delacorte / Seymour Lawrence books: look for an explicit "First printing" statement on the copyright page (e.g. Slaughterhouse-Five is a stated first printing)

Full Delacorte 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. 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?

The census claim that 'US Delacorte 1999 precedes UK Heinemann 1999' is NOT supported and should be corrected. Sources consulted give 8 June 1999 for the Delacorte issue and place the William Heinemann (London) issue in the same month, consistent with a co-ordinated simultaneous release; no consulted source establishes priority of one over the other by day. Both are collected: the Delacorte is the US first and the Heinemann is the first UK edition, and dealers describe the Heinemann as 'first U.K. edition' rather than as a reprint. Precedence between the two should be presented as simultaneous/unresolved, not as US-over-UK.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

US book-club issues (Book-of-the-Month Club / Doubleday clubs) and UK club issues circulate. Tells: blind-stamped colophon impressed into the rear board near the spine, no price at the jacket flap, no barcode on the jacket rear, smaller trim, lower-bulk paper, and no publisher's number line on the copyright page.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Hannibal a first edition?

A first edition of Hannibal by Thomas Harris (Delacorte Press) is identified by: The Delacorte Press, New York, 1999 hardcover (486 pp.) states 'June 1999' on the copyright page above a full number line; the first printing requires the 1 to be present in that line — the dated statement alone carries forward and does not establish the printing.

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 census claim that 'US Delacorte 1999 precedes UK Heinemann 1999' is NOT supported and should be corrected.

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

US book-club issues (Book-of-the-Month Club / Doubleday clubs) and UK club issues circulate. Tells: blind-stamped colophon impressed into the rear board near the spine, no price at the jacket flap, no barcode on the jacket rear, smaller trim, lower-bulk paper, and no publisher's number line on the copyright page.

I have a first edition of Hannibal — 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.