Is My Longitude a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Walker and Company, New York, 1995
• The copyright page carries the stated-edition wording 'First published in the United States of America in 1995' together with a number line descending to 1
• A small octavo in cloth-backed boards, about 184 pages including the index; issued in a first-state dust jacket that should retain its original printed front-flap price
• The first issue is the unillustrated trade text

How Walker & Company marked a first edition

• British convention: a first printing carries a complete number line on the copyright page ending in 1 (commonly '2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1' or '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1'); the lowest digit present is the printing

Full Walker & Company 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. 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?

US Walker 1995 is the true first, preceding the UK Fourth Estate edition (1996, which carries the longer subtitle). Later illustrated editions (1998) are textually expanded and not the first. Signed Sobel copies desirable.P-005696

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The Illustrated Longitude (published later, 1998, with added images and captions) is a separate 'first thus,' not the 1995 first. Later Walker printings show number lines that no longer descend to 1.P-036566

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Longitude a first edition?

A first edition of Longitude by Dava Sobel (Walker & Company) is identified by: Walker and Company, New York, 1995.

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). US Walker 1995 is the true first, preceding the UK Fourth Estate edition (1996, which carries the longer subtitle).

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

The Illustrated Longitude (published later, 1998, with added images and captions) is a separate 'first thus,' not the 1995 first. Later Walker printings show number lines that no longer descend to 1.

I have a first edition of Longitude — 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.