Is My House of Leaves a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Pantheon issued the hardcover (ISBN 978-0-375-41034-5) and the trade paperback (ISBN 978-0-375-70376-8) simultaneously on 7 March 2000; the hardcover is the collected form
• A first printing states 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page and carries a complete number line in which 1 is present
• The single biggest trap is the title page: its foot reads '2nd Edition' on every copy ever printed, including the true first, because Danielewski designated the earlier serialized internet release the 'the printed pricet edition' — a '2nd Edition' title page is therefore expected on a first printing and is NOT a reprint tell
• Dealers accordingly catalogue true firsts as 'Second Edition, First Printing.' In the colored issue the word 'house' (and its foreign equivalents Haus, maison) prints in blue; the word 'minotaur' and all struck-through passages print in red; 'A Novel' on the cover prints in purple; and the copyright page's 'First Edition' is itself printed struck through in purple
• Some first hardcovers are signed by Danielewski with a large blue 'Z' (reported at roughly 705 copies)
• Jacket should be present and priced at the flap, with the jacket ISBN matching the book block

How Pantheon Books, New York marked a first edition

• A true first has both the 'First Edition' statement and the 1 present; reprints drop 'First Edition' and/or the 1.
• Earlier Pantheon (pre-RH, founded 1942): identification by absence of additional printings and by stated 'First Edition' / 'First Printing' where present.

Full Pantheon Books, 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 only — Pantheon Books, New York, 2000, is the true first; there is no earlier or rival foreign first, and no original-language question arises. Hardcover and trade paperback were published simultaneously on 7 March 2000, with a small hardcover release carrying signed inserts reported on 29 February 2000; the hardcover is the collected form and the paperback is a simultaneous, not subsequent, issue. UK editions follow the US. The author's conceit that the 'the printed pricet edition' was the internet release is a fiction internal to the novel, not a bibliographical edition, and does not displace the Pantheon 2000 printing as the true first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented in the sources consulted. The live traps are reprint/'first thus' rather than BCE: (a) the 2006 'Remastered Full-Color Edition,' which is routinely mis-sold as the first because the trade paperback shares the 2000 first's ISBN and reproduces a 2000 copyright date; (b) the 2000 trade paperback being taken for the hardcover first; and (c) the '2nd Edition' title-page statement causing genuine firsts to be misdescribed as second editions and genuine later printings to be sold as firsts. The number line on the copyright page — not the title page and not the color of the text — is the operative test.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of House of Leaves a first edition?

A first edition of House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (Pantheon Books, New York) is identified by: Pantheon issued the hardcover (ISBN 978-0-375-41034-5) and the trade paperback (ISBN 978-0-375-70376-8) simultaneously on 7 March 2000; the hardcover is the collected form.

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 only — Pantheon Books, New York, 2000, is the true first; there is no earlier or rival foreign first, and no original-language question arises.

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

No book-club edition is documented in the sources consulted. The live traps are reprint/'first thus' rather than BCE: (a) the 2006 'Remastered Full-Color Edition,' which is routinely mis-sold as the first because the trade paperback shares the 2000 first's ISBN and reproduces a 2000 copyright date; (b) the 2000 trade paperback being taken for the hardcover first; and (c) the '2nd Edition' title-page statement causing genuine firsts to be misdescribed as second editions and genuine later printing

I have a first edition of House of Leaves — 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.