Is My Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First US printing: the copyright page carries the interleaved number line '1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2' (NOT a straight countdown), followed by the line 'Printed in the U.S.A. 23' and the statement 'First American edition, October 1998.' The name 'J.K. Rowling' is printed in full at the head of the spine
• Purple boards with an embossed diamond pattern and a red cloth spine
• 309 pages
• First-state dust jacket: raised gold title lettering, a review quote from The Guardian on the rear panel (not from Publishers Weekly), no 'Year 1' numeral at the head of the jacket spine, and the printed price intact on the front flap

How Arthur A. Levine / Scholastic marked a first edition

• Full number line on copyright page; first printing includes/begins effectively with '1' — Scholastic uses interleaved year/printing strings (e.g. '1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2' followed by year codes). If the printing portion do…
• Frequently states the edition: e.g. 'First American edition, October 1998' (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

Full Arthur A. Levine / Scholastic 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?

This is the senior US edition (the retitled American first), separate from and later than the UK Bloomsbury true first. Among US copies the first printing is the desirable state, identified by the 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 line, the '23' code, and the no-'1'-on-spine first-state jacket.P-036809

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later US printings add a numeral '1' at the head of the spine and change the 'Printed in the U.S.A.' code; book-club editions lack the printed jacket price and the '23' code. The 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 line plus the '23' code plus the no-'1'-spine jacket marks the true first American printing.P-036810

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone a first edition?

A first edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling (Arthur A. Levine / Scholastic) is identified by: First US printing: the copyright page carries the interleaved number line '1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2' (NOT a straight countdown), followed by the line 'Printed in the U.S.A.

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). This is the senior US edition (the retitled American first), separate from and later than the UK Bloomsbury true first.

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

Later US printings add a numeral '1' at the head of the spine and change the 'Printed in the U.S.A.' code; book-club editions lack the printed jacket price and the '23' code. The 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 line plus the '23' code plus the no-'1'-spine jacket marks the true first American printing.

I have a first edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone — 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.