Is My Heart-Shaped Box a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The US first edition is William Morrow (HarperCollins), New York, published 13 February 2007 (ISBN 978-0-06-114793-7, 376 pp.)
• First printings are identified on the copyright page by a complete number line in which 1 is present
• Sources conflict on the sequence itself — several dealers report the Morrow line as '1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2', while others describe simply a 'full number line to 1' or '1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10' — so the operative and universally agreed test is that the 1 is present, not the direction of the line; do not reject a copy on the direction of the sequence alone
• Jacket must be present and priced at the flap, with the jacket ISBN matching the book block
• An uncorrected proof / advance reading copy in wrappers exists and is not the first edition
• Signed copies are common enough that a signature alone establishes nothing about the printing — check the number line

How William Morrow, New York marked a first edition

• 1922–c.1962 (Harper & Brothers, stated-first era): from 1922 Harper & Brothers began printing the words 'First Edition' on the copyright page. IMPORTANT: the letter printing code did NOT stop in 1922 — it continued to ap…
• Reading the year code (the central trap): the year sequence begins M=1912 and runs forward through the alphabet — M=1912, N=1913, O=1914 … Z=1925, A=1926, B=1927 … L=1936. In 1937 the alphabet is RECYCLED: it restarts at…

Full William Morrow, 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. 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?

US precedes UK — the census note's 'simultaneous' is NOT supported and is corrected here. William Morrow, New York, 13 February 2007 is the true first; the UK first is Gollancz (Orion), London, reported as 15 March 2007 (ISBN 9780752889184), roughly a month later. Both are collected: the Gollancz hardcover is the first UK edition and first impression, identified by its own full number line, and Gollancz additionally issued a signed slipcased limited state. Separately, Subterranean Press published a limited edition in 2011 — 300 cloth copies numbered 201-500 signed by Hill; a deluxe issue of 200 numbered 1-200, signed, adding the deleted first chapter as an appendix plus an exclusive author's afterword and two two-color illustrations; and 15 leatherbound copies lettered A-O in a custom traycase. A Lividian Publications signed slipcased limited of 1,750 followed in 2022. The census note is correct that the Subterranean issue is a separate later collected state, not the first edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented; dealers routinely note first printings as 'not book club.' The practical traps are (a) later Morrow printings — a second printing was announced 14 April 2007 and released that May — which are physically indistinguishable from the first apart from the number line; (b) the UK Gollancz first, which is a legitimate first UK edition but is often offered as 'the' first edition; and (c) the 2011 Subterranean and 2022 Lividian limiteds, which are signed, numbered and handsome, and are the most frequently mistaken-for-first states in the trade. On any suspect copy the standard quick checks apply — a blind stamp on the rear board and an unpriced jacket flap point away from a trade first printing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Heart-Shaped Box a first edition?

A first edition of Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (William Morrow, New York) is identified by: The US first edition is William Morrow (HarperCollins), New York, published 13 February 2007 (ISBN 978-0-06-114793-7, 376 pp.).

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). US precedes UK — the census note's 'simultaneous' is NOT supported and is corrected here.

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

No book-club edition is documented; dealers routinely note first printings as 'not book club.' The practical traps are (a) later Morrow printings — a second printing was announced 14 April 2007 and released that May — which are physically indistinguishable from the first apart from the number line; (b) the UK Gollancz first, which is a legitimate first UK edition but is often offered as 'the' first edition; and (c) the 2011 Subterranean and 2022 Lividian limiteds, which are signed, numbered and

I have a first edition of Heart-Shaped Box — 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.