Is My Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban a First Edition?

The points of issue

• UK Bloomsbury, 1999 (published 8 July 1999)
• The first state requires three points together on/near the copyright page:
• the full number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1'
• the copyright credited to 'Joanne Rowling' rather than 'J. K. Rowling'; and
• the page-7 text fault — in the passage on Wendelin the Weird, the sentence '...enjoyed being burnt so much that she allowed herself to be caught no less than forty-seven times...' is broken by an unintended line break (introduced when an editor changed the American 'burned' to British 'burnt')
• Printer line reads 'Clays Ltd, St Ives plc', and the copyright page should show only 'Bloomsbury' and '1999'

How Bloomsbury marked a first edition

• First printings carry a full descending number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page; the lowest number (1) present = first printing

Full Bloomsbury 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?

UK Bloomsbury is the true first, ahead of the US Scholastic edition (also 1999). The decisive first-state points are the 'Joanne Rowling' copyright credit, the page 7 dropped line, and the complete 10-to-1 number line. Bibliographer Philip Errington records about 5,150 first-impression copies, of which roughly 2,500 are first state.P-012503

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Second state corrects the credit to 'J. K. Rowling' and repairs the page-7 line; a later (third) state also removes the 'Clays Ltd, St Ives plc' printer line and adds two pages of black-and-white advertisements for the first two books at the rear. Gift/club printings carrying a 'Ted Smart' / 'This edition produced for The Book People Ltd' line are not the trade first. A copy lacking the 'Joanne Rowling' credit and the page-7 fault is not first state regardless of its number line.P-036808

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban a first edition?

A first edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling (Bloomsbury) is identified by: UK Bloomsbury, 1999 (published 8 July 1999).

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). UK Bloomsbury is the true first, ahead of the US Scholastic edition (also 1999).

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

Second state corrects the credit to 'J. K. Rowling' and repairs the page-7 line; a later (third) state also removes the 'Clays Ltd, St Ives plc' printer line and adds two pages of black-and-white advertisements for the first two books at the rear. Gift/club printings carrying a 'Ted Smart' / 'This edition produced for The Book People Ltd' line are not the trade first. A copy lacking the 'Joanne Rowling' credit and the page-7 fault is not first state regardless of its number line.

I have a first edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban — 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.