Is My Like Water for Chocolate a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first: Editorial Planeta Mexicana, Mexico City, 1989 (Como agua para chocolate), Esquivel's debut novel; the first printing reportedly sold out within about two months
• First edition in English: Doubleday, New York, 1992, translated by Carol and Thomas Christensen; the first printing states 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page with the full number line '1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2,' bound in brown boards with a brown cloth spine lettered in gilt
• First-issue dust-jacket point: the front panel LACKS the yellow oval that later printings add to carry a USA Today review or a 'NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM Miramax' banner; the rear panel carries an author photo and blurbs by Sandra Cisneros, Diana Kennedy and Elena Poniatowska

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. Verify this is the US 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?

Spanish-language Mexican first (Planeta 1989) is the true first. The US Doubleday 1992 is the first in English and precedes the UK issue (Doubleday/Black Swan); the film-tie-in jacket state is a later printing, not the first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Doubleday and Anchor / Black Swan printings drop the 'FIRST EDITION' line and add the Miramax film banner to the jacket, marking reprints. No dedicated book-club edition is a recognized point.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Like Water for Chocolate a first edition?

A first edition of Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (Editorial Planeta, Mexico City) is identified by: True first: Editorial Planeta Mexicana, Mexico City, 1989 (Como agua para chocolate), Esquivel's debut novel; the first printing reportedly sold out within about two months.

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). Spanish-language Mexican first (Planeta 1989) is the true first.

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

Later Doubleday and Anchor / Black Swan printings drop the 'FIRST EDITION' line and add the Miramax film banner to the jacket, marking reprints. No dedicated book-club edition is a recognized point.

I have a first edition of Like Water for Chocolate — 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.