# Is "Interface" by Stephen Bury (Neal Stephenson and J. Frederick George) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Interface by Stephen Bury (Neal Stephenson and J. Frederick George) (Bantam, 1994) is identified by: Trade paperback original in glossy pictorial stiff wrappers under the pseudonym Stephen Bury, cover art by Bruce Jensen, with the copyright page dated 'A Bantam Book / May 1994' and a full number line reading RRH 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1; the printed price should be present on the rear cover with no remainder mark. The US Bantam trade paperback original (May 1994) is the true first; no hardcover issue was produced.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Trade paperback original in glossy pictorial stiff wrappers under the pseudonym Stephen Bury, cover art by Bruce Jensen, with the copyright page dated 'A Bantam Book / May 1994' and a full number line reading RRH 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1; the printed price should be present on the rear cover with no remainder mark
- About 583 pages
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen Bury (Neal Stephenson and J. Frederick George) |
| Publisher | Bantam |
| Year | 1994 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Trade paperback original in glossy pictorial stiff wrappers under the pseudonym Stephen Bury, cover art by Bruce Jensen, with the copyright… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Trade paperback original in glossy pictorial stiff wrappers under the pseudonym Stephen Bury, cover art by Bruce Jensen, with the copyright page dated 'A Bantam Book / May 1994' and a full number line reading RRH 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1; the printed price should be present on the rear cover with no remainder mark. About 583 pages.

## Is this the true first?
The US Bantam trade paperback original (May 1994) is the true first; no hardcover issue was produced. Written by Neal Stephenson with his uncle J. Frederick George (George Jewsbury) under the joint pseudonym Stephen Bury.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later editions credited to Stephenson and George, plus a UK Foundation/hardcover issue, are not the first; a remainder mark on the bottom edge also indicates a non-first copy.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Interface* by Stephen Bury (Neal Stephenson and J. Frederick George) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/interface
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.