Is My Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition in English (copyright page stated 'First edition, 1991'; dealers also style it the 'First American edition'), translated by Alfred Birnbaum
• Published by Kodansha International, New York (ISBN 4-7700-1544-5)
• The first printing is identified by the copyright-page statement 'First edition, 1991' followed by a printer's key counting down to 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, preceded by the year codes 91 92 93)
• Issued in quarter black cloth over magenta (dark-mauve) paper-covered boards stamped in silver, with illustrated endpapers, in a pictorial dust jacket (price present at the flap)
• Collates 400 pages

How Kodansha International marked a first edition

• c.1990–2011: many later KI titles use a descending number line on the copyright page (lowest digit, typically '1', = first printing) together with a 'First published <year> by Kodansha International' statement and a 'Pri…

Full Kodansha International 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 UK 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 Kodansha International edition of 1991 (New York) is the first edition in English; the UK edition (Hamish Hamilton, London) followed, also in 1991. The Japanese original, Sekai no owari to hado-boirudo wandarando, was published in 1985 and won the Tanizaki Prize that year. It is Murakami's fourth novel and the second published in English for the trade (after A Wild Sheep Chase).P-036748

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Vintage International paperbacks are reprints. Confirm the 'First edition, 1991' statement with the full 10-to-1 number line, the quarter-black-cloth binding over magenta boards, and ISBN 4-7700-1544-5.P-036749

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World a first edition?

A first edition of Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami (Kodansha International) is identified by: First edition in English (copyright page stated 'First edition, 1991'; dealers also style it the 'First American edition'), translated by Alfred Birnbaum.

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 Kodansha International edition of 1991 (New York) is the first edition in English; the UK edition (Hamish Hamilton, London) followed, also in 1991.

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

Later Vintage International paperbacks are reprints. Confirm the 'First edition, 1991' statement with the full 10-to-1 number line, the quarter-black-cloth binding over magenta boards, and ISBN 4-7700-1544-5.

I have a first edition of Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World — 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.