Is My Howl's Moving Castle a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first is the Greenwillow Books hardcover, New York, 1986 (ISBN 0-688-06233-4), 212pp, 24cm
• The copyright page carries a stated "First Edition"; the Library of Congress record (LCCN 85021981) transcribes the edition statement as "the printed pricet ed." Greenwillow was a William Morrow imprint, and Morrow-family firsts of this period pair the "First Edition" statement with a number line that must still retain the 1 — check both
• Jacket art by Jos A. Smith (single-dealer attribution)
• Priced jacket: price present at the flap, unclipped; the LoC record notes the publisher's price on the second page of the jacket
• Basis for the 2004 Miyazaki film, which drives demand for the 1986 firsts

How Greenwillow Books marked a first edition

• On first printings, the copyright page carries a 'First Edition' statement together with a number line whose lowest digit is 1
• First printing is indicated by the presence of '1' as the lowest number in the number row

Full Greenwillow Books 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?

Census claim — US-first precedence for a UK author — is supported, but the month-level dates in circulation are not. Two independent lines of evidence favour Greenwillow: the LoC record is an original CIP record created in September 1985 for the 1986 US publication and carries no "Originally published" note (contrast the LoC-derived Eddings/Corgi record, which does carry exactly such a note, showing that LoC records prior foreign publication as a matter of practice); and specialist dealers describe the Methuen Children's Books edition (London, 1986, ISBN 0-416-61590-2, blue cloth-effect boards with yellow spine titles) as the "first British edition, first printing" — a formula the trade reserves for books first published elsewhere. Caveat published deliberately: the widely repeated months (Greenwillow April 1986 / Methuen November 1986) trace back to Wikipedia's infobox, which is itself internally inconsistent, and were not independently confirmed. Both 1986 editions are collected — the Greenwillow as the first, the Methuen as the first British edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 1986 Greenwillow or Methuen firsts in the sources consulted. Later "first thus" traps are numerous and film-driven: the HarperCollins/HarperTrophy reissues (ISBNs 0-06-441034-X, 0-06-029881-2, 0-06-147878-4), the Magnet/Mandarin UK paperbacks (Teens Mandarin, 1991), and the various post-2004 movie tie-in printings.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Howl's Moving Castle a first edition?

A first edition of Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (Greenwillow Books) is identified by: True first is the Greenwillow Books hardcover, New York, 1986 (ISBN 0-688-06233-4), 212pp, 24cm.

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). Census claim — US-first precedence for a UK author — is supported, but the month-level dates in circulation are not.

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

No book-club issue is documented for the 1986 Greenwillow or Methuen firsts in the sources consulted. Later "first thus" traps are numerous and film-driven: the HarperCollins/HarperTrophy reissues (ISBNs 0-06-441034-X, 0-06-029881-2, 0-06-147878-4), the Magnet/Mandarin UK paperbacks (Teens Mandarin, 1991), and the various post-2004 movie tie-in printings.

I have a first edition of Howl's Moving Castle — 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.