Is My Infinite Jest a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing: the copyright page states 'First Edition' and carries the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ending in 1
• Bound in quarter blue cloth over blue paper-covered boards with the spine stamped in silver
• The first-issue dust jacket (Steve Snider's blue sky-and-clouds design) is a priced, unclipped jacket with the printed price present at the front flap; on the rear panel the last of the review blurbs misspells William Vollmann as 'Vollman' — a noted feature of the first-edition jacket
• Later printings drop the '1' from the number line and omit the 'First Edition' statement

How Little, Brown and Company marked a first edition

• From 1940 onward: Little, Brown adopted an explicit statement, printing 'First Edition' OR 'First Printing' on the copyright page of a first printing. Presence of that phrase, with no overriding later-printing line, deno…
• Late 1970s onward: Little, Brown added a descending number line to the copyright page. Per the trade-house standard, the first printing is present only when the line still contains a '1' (e.g., '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1'); t…

Full Little, Brown and Company 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?

The US Little, Brown (Boston) 1996 first printing is the true first; the UK Abacus edition (1997) follows (US precedes UK). The advance state is the 'Special Galleys' uncorrected proof, issued in pictorial wrappers that reproduce the published sky-and-clouds cover with 'Special Galleys Signed by the Author' printed at the foot; roughly 1,000 were signed by Wallace (often with a small smiley-face) and it is separately collected — it is NOT a 'green' proof. Wallace signatures are heavily forged, so provenance matters on any signed copy.P-036571

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Printing state is told by the number line: a line no longer ending in '1' (and the absence of the stated 'First Edition') indicates a later printing. The jacket art is unchanged across printings, so it does not distinguish states — use the copyright page. Any later book-club or reprint issue will be unpriced and will lack the full number line.P-036572

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Infinite Jest a first edition?

A first edition of Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (Little, Brown and Company) is identified by: First printing: the copyright page states 'First Edition' and carries the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ending in 1.

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). The US Little, Brown (Boston) 1996 first printing is the true first; the UK Abacus edition (1997) follows (US precedes UK).

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

Printing state is told by the number line: a line no longer ending in '1' (and the absence of the stated 'First Edition') indicates a later printing. The jacket art is unchanged across printings, so it does not distinguish states — use the copyright page. Any later book-club or reprint issue will be unpriced and will lack the full number line.

I have a first edition of Infinite Jest — 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.