Is My Isle of the Dead a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Ace paperback original, 1969, carrying the Ace catalog number 37465, with wrapper art by Leo and Diane Dillon; issued in the original Ace Science Fiction Specials series
• Nebula nominee for Best Novel
• As a wrappered original there is no number line; identify the true first by the 37465 catalog number, the priced first-printing wrappers, and the absence of any later-printing statement

How Ace marked a first edition

• Price increases on later printings of the same/related serial number are a reliable later-STATE indicator. There is no well-documented, consistent Ace convention of an explicit 'First Ace printing: <Month Year>' statemen…

Full Ace first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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 Ace paperback original (Ace 37465) is the true first edition, published 1969; the Rapp & Whiting UK hardcover followed in 1970 and reprints the Ace text.P-028206

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book club edition. Distinguish the true first from later Ace reissues, which carry different catalog numbers and, in one case, a Dean Ellis cover rather than the Dillon wrapper art.P-028207

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Isle of the Dead a first edition?

A first edition of Isle of the Dead by Roger Zelazny (Ace) is identified by: Ace paperback original, 1969, carrying the Ace catalog number 37465, with wrapper art by Leo and Diane Dillon; issued in the original Ace Science Fiction Specials series.

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 Ace paperback original (Ace 37465) is the true first edition, published 1969; the Rapp & Whiting UK hardcover followed in 1970 and reprints the Ace text.

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

No book club edition. Distinguish the true first from later Ace reissues, which carry different catalog numbers and, in one case, a Dean Ellis cover rather than the Dillon wrapper art.

I have a first edition of Isle of the Dead — 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.