Is My Jack's Return Home a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Michael Joseph firsts of this era state "First published in Great Britain by Michael Joseph Ltd … 1970" on the copyright page and note subsequent impressions; a first shows the 1970 statement and nothing later
• ILAB's guide gives Michael Joseph as "First published … (Month, Year)" on the copyright page of first editions with subsequent printings noted, and Biblio's publisher entry agrees that from the mid-1930s firsts either state "First Published (year)" or list no additional printings — so any added impression line rules a copy out
• Publication was 9 February 1970; the collation is 206pp
• Dealer copies describe cloth boards with the spine lettered in silver, in a pictorial jacket that should be unclipped with the price present at the flap
• No first-state text error is documented for this title, so the copyright-page statement plus the intact priced jacket carry the identification

How Michael Joseph marked a first edition

• First printing = statement present AND no subsequent-impression lines

Full Michael Joseph 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. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the UK 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?

UK Michael Joseph, London, 9 February 1970 is the true first — the census claim is confirmed. A first American edition followed in the same year from Doubleday, Garden City, New York, 1970 (LCCN 71097670, 206pp; Doubleday firsts of this era state "First Edition" on the copyright page and carry no statement on later printings). The Doubleday is collected as the first US edition but is preceded by the Michael Joseph. Key "first thus" trap: the book was never first published as Get Carter. That title belongs to later reissues — Pan's 1971 film tie-in paperback was retitled Carter, and Allison & Busby's 1993 paperback used Get Carter — and copies so titled are reprints under a changed title, not firsts.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue of either the Michael Joseph or the Doubleday first is documented. Documented reprint/later-issue tells are the retitlings: Pan paperback "Carter" (1971, with Get Carter film stills to the cover) and Allison & Busby "Get Carter" (1993). If a US copy is encountered, the standard Doubleday book-club tells apply as a general check — a blind stamp on the rear board at the foot nearest the spine, an unpriced jacket, and "Book Club Edition" at the foot of the front flap — though no such issue is specifically recorded for this title.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Jack's Return Home a first edition?

A first edition of Jack's Return Home by Ted Lewis (Michael Joseph) is identified by: Michael Joseph firsts of this era state "First published in Great Britain by Michael Joseph Ltd … 1970" on the copyright page and note subsequent impressions; a first shows the 1970 statement and nothing later.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. UK Michael Joseph, London, 9 February 1970 is the true first — the census claim is confirmed.

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

No book-club issue of either the Michael Joseph or the Doubleday first is documented. Documented reprint/later-issue tells are the retitlings: Pan paperback "Carter" (1971, with Get Carter film stills to the cover) and Allison & Busby "Get Carter" (1993). If a US copy is encountered, the standard Doubleday book-club tells apply as a general check — a blind stamp on the rear board at the foot nearest the spine, an unpriced jacket, and "Book Club Edition" at the foot of the front flap — though no

I have a first edition of Jack's Return Home — 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.