Is My Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Two independent points must both be satisfied
• First, the copyright page states "First Printing." Second — and this is the point most often missed — the first-issue jacket carries a date code on the front flap reading "1/67"; later printings advance the code ("4/67" on the fourth), so a jacket coded anything other than 1/67 signals a later printing even on a stated-first book
• Because jackets are routinely married to the wrong copies, check both
• The price is present at the front flap on the first-issue jacket
• Octavo, [viii], 279 pp (one dealer collates 278 pp, [1])
• Publisher's black cloth, the front cover pictorially stamped in silver with a motorcycle, the spine lettered in red and silver; black topstain (often partly faded)

How Random House marked a first edition

• Stated-edition era (c.1936–1975): trade first printings are plainly marked with the words 'First Edition' (or, on some earlier titles, 'First Printing') on the copyright page, with NO number line yet in use; a copyright…
• Divisional practice — share the STATEMENT, not the '2'-line: sister divisions state 'First Edition' as their firsts (Alfred A. Knopf consistently since 1933–34; Pantheon since 1964), so the words work across the family.…

Full Random House 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. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
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?

Census claim confirmed in substance: Random House, New York, 1967 is the true first and is Thompson's first book. The census's "UK Penguin followed" needs sharpening: the first UK edition is a 1967 hardcover from Allen Lane / The Penguin Press, London, which follows the US and is recorded by the Thompson bibliography site as very scarce and possibly a limited release to libraries or suppliers. Later Penguin and Ballantine paperback settings are first-thus, not firsts. Some listings date the book 1966; the first American edition is dated 1967 and printed January 1967.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The book-club issue is documented as carrying a RED topstain where the first printing has black, with "Book Club" printed on the jacket flap in place of the price and the 1/67 date code. The black topstain on the first printing is corroborated by two independent dealers; the red-topstain club tell rests on one specialist dealer, so confirm via the jacket flap and copyright page rather than the stain alone. Separately, a Thompson bibliography documents seven printings of the first edition, with the 3rd, 4th and 7th adding a brief statement by Thompson on the title page about the origin of the work — a title-page note of that kind is a reprint tell and never appears on a first printing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga a first edition?

A first edition of Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga by Hunter S. Thompson (Random House) is identified by: Two independent points must both be satisfied.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. Census claim confirmed in substance: Random House, New York, 1967 is the true first and is Thompson's first book.

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

The book-club issue is documented as carrying a RED topstain where the first printing has black, with "Book Club" printed on the jacket flap in place of the price and the 1/67 date code. The black topstain on the first printing is corroborated by two independent dealers; the red-topstain club tell rests on one specialist dealer, so confirm via the jacket flap and copyright page rather than the stain alone. Separately, a Thompson bibliography documents seven printings of the first edition, with t

I have a first edition of Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga — 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.