Is My Leaf Storm and Other Stories a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First US edition, first printing, translated by Gregory Rabassa (Harper & Row, New York, 1972)
• Identified by 'FIRST U.S. EDITION' stated on the copyright page together with the full number line reading 72 73 74 75 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 at the foot of the final leaf
• Bound in turquoise cloth with a stamped bird device to the front cover and green and gilt lettering to the spine, with decorative leaf endpapers
• The first-state dust jacket is designed by Guy Fleming and carries the printed price on the front flap along with the date code 0272 at the foot of the inside front flap

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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. 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?

First English-language edition of the title novella La hojarasca together with the accompanying stories translated by Rabassa. The number line ending in 1 and the 'FIRST U.S. EDITION' statement together establish the first printing.P-009573

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The book-club edition is identified by a blind-stamped device to the rear board and a jacket printed without a price and without the 0272 date code; the club jacket carries no price rather than being price-clipped. A trade jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap.P-009574

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Leaf Storm and Other Stories a first edition?

A first edition of Leaf Storm and Other Stories by Gabriel García Márquez (Harper & Row) is identified by: First US edition, first printing, translated by Gregory Rabassa (Harper & Row, New York, 1972).

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). First English-language edition of the title novella La hojarasca together with the accompanying stories translated by Rabassa.

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

The book-club edition is identified by a blind-stamped device to the rear board and a jacket printed without a price and without the 0272 date code; the club jacket carries no price rather than being price-clipped. A trade jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap.

I have a first edition of Leaf Storm and Other Stories — 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.