Is My Life, the Universe and Everything a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the Pan Books paperback original, London, 1982 — a "Pan original" with the copyright page stating first publication in 1982 by Pan Books, ISBN 0-330-26738-8, and the publisher's price printed on the rear wrap
• The Arthur Barker (London) hardcover of the same year is the first hardcover edition, in publisher's blue cloth with silver titling to the spine and the Daniel Rainey illustrated dustwrapper
• Caution on the Barker jacket: it exists in both a priced state and an unpriced export state (the export state is also recorded without the publisher's address or ISBN on the rear flap), so a jacket without a price at the flap is not by itself evidence of a later issue or a clipped copy
• The Harmony Books (New York) hardcover, also 1982, is the first American edition
• Points beyond the Pan copyright-page statement are thin in the dealer record; no number-line point for the Pan issue was corroborated, and the Harmony number line was not confirmed against two sources, so it is not asserted here

How Pan Books marked a first edition

• First printings carry a number line, typically descending ending in 1 (1 present = first); lowest digit indicates printing

Full Pan Books 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?

The census claim that the US Harmony hardcover is the first hardcover is WRONG and has been corrected. Pan Books, London, 1982 is the true first edition (paperback original), and Lucius Books (ABA/ILAB) catalogues the Arthur Barker, London, 1982 hardcover explicitly as "First hardcover edition, first printing," noting the book was "first published as a paperback original by Pan Books earlier the same year." Harmony Books, New York, 1982 is the first US edition and the first US hardcover only. Three editions are collected and should be named separately: Pan (true first), Arthur Barker (first hardcover), Harmony (first American). Treating the Harmony or Barker hardcover as "the first edition" is the standard first-thus trap on this title.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 1982 Pan, Arthur Barker, or Harmony printings in the sources consulted. Later Pan impressions are distinguished by added impression statements on the copyright page; the Pan original's statement records 1982 first publication only.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Life, the Universe and Everything a first edition?

A first edition of Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams (Pan Books) is identified by: The true first is the Pan Books paperback original, London, 1982 — a "Pan original" with the copyright page stating first publication in 1982 by Pan Books, ISBN 0-330-26738-8, and the publisher's price printed on the rear wrap.

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). The census claim that the US Harmony hardcover is the first hardcover is WRONG and has been corrected.

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

No book-club issue is documented for the 1982 Pan, Arthur Barker, or Harmony printings in the sources consulted. Later Pan impressions are distinguished by added impression statements on the copyright page; the Pan original's statement records 1982 first publication only.

I have a first edition of Life, the Universe and Everything — 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.