Is My Jazz (Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Full brown morocco, gilt-decorated (trumpet motif on covers), three raised bands, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt; issued as a Signed First Edition Society volume and hand-signed by Morrison on a bound-in limitation page
• Distinguish from the trade Knopf first, which is cloth, states 'First Trade Edition' on the copyright page, and carries a the printed price code with a Maya Angelou photo on the rear jacket panel

How The Franklin Library marked a first edition

• Two distinct categories: (1) 'Signed First Edition' series — true first printings with a SEPARATELY BOUND-IN leaf bearing a GENUINE author autograph; (2) classics reprints where the introduction is signed but that signat…
• Genuine signed firsts: author signature stands alone on its own conjugate/inserted leaf; facsimile signatures appear at the END of a printed introduction

Full The Franklin Library 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. 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?

The Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society series (issued 1983-2000) is genuinely hand-signed by the author on a separate limitation page bound into the book; this is NOT a facsimile signature. The earlier Franklin Limited First Editions series (1976-1982) used facsimile signatures, but that does not apply here. The Knopf trade edition remains the standard textual first; the Franklin issue was a privately printed deluxe issued around the same time as a genuinely signed first thus.P-031636

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Not a book-club reprint. The leather Franklin Signed First Edition Society copy is genuinely hand-signed (not a facsimile), so it is correctly described as a signed deluxe issue rather than the textual precedence first; the Knopf trade printing is the standard collector's textual first.P-031637

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Jazz (Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society) a first edition?

A first edition of Jazz (Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society) by Toni Morrison (The Franklin Library) is identified by: Full brown morocco, gilt-decorated (trumpet motif on covers), three raised bands, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt; issued as a Signed First Edition Society volume and hand-signed by Morrison on a bound-in limitation page.

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. The Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society series (issued 1983-2000) is genuinely hand-signed by the author on a separate limitation page bound into the book; this is NOT a facsimile signature.

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

Not a book-club reprint. The leather Franklin Signed First Edition Society copy is genuinely hand-signed (not a facsimile), so it is correctly described as a signed deluxe issue rather than the textual precedence first; the Knopf trade printing is the standard collector's textual first.

I have a first edition of Jazz (Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society) — 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.