Is My Copy of House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Bloomsbury Publishing, New York, published 3 March 2020, hardcover in jacket, ISBN 978-1-63557-404-3, approx. 803 pp., jacket art by Carlos Quevedo carrying the crescent-moon sigil, with illustrated endpapers
• The first printing is identified by the full number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 on the copyright page; dealers separate it on that alone, and a copy whose line no longer begins with 1 is a later impression of the same 2020 edition
• Copies of the US issue are additionally recorded with a stated 'First published in the United States 2020' on the copyright page alongside the complete number line
• The simultaneous UK issue — Bloomsbury, London, ISBN 978-1-4088-8441-6 — is also a hardback and is identified as a first UK edition by its own first-impression statement and number line; the two are separate firsts and should be catalogued as such

How Bloomsbury Publishing, New York 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
• Copyright page should show only the original publication year and no later printer/edition statement

Full Bloomsbury Publishing, 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?

Date and publisher stand; sprayed edges are not a first-printing point. Both the US issue (Bloomsbury Publishing, New York) and the UK issue (Bloomsbury, London) were published 3 March 2020 as hardbacks, so each is a first edition of its own territory and both are collected; the US issue is the one normally cited as 'the' first. Sprayed edges do not appear on the 2020 trade first in any form — see the reprint note.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented. The traps, in order of how often they mislead: (a) subscription-box and retailer-exclusive editions — the Fairyloot Crescent City exclusives, with redesigned jackets, foiled boards with character art, illustrated endpapers, foil-detailed slipcase and digitally sprayed fore-edges, did not ship until roughly March–April 2023, three years after publication, and the Illumicrate and other exclusives are likewise later; sprayed edges are therefore positive evidence AGAINST a 2020 first printing. (b) The Bloomsbury paperback of 2021. (c) Later adult-market reissues under fresh ISBNs (e.g. 978-1-5266-6355-9). (d) Ordinary later 2020 impressions, identical but for the missing 1 on the number line.P-043162

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City) a first edition?

A first edition of House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City) by Sarah J. Maas (Bloomsbury Publishing, New York) is identified by: Bloomsbury Publishing, New York, published 3 March 2020, hardcover in jacket, ISBN 978-1-63557-404-3, approx. 803 pp., jacket art by Carlos Quevedo carrying the crescent-moon sigil, with illustrated endpapers.

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). Date and publisher stand; sprayed edges are not a first-printing point.

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

No book-club edition is documented.

I have a first edition of House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City) — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.