Is My Lucky at Cards a First Edition?

The points of issue

The documented point specific to this title is limited; the general identification guidance below applies.

The true first appearance is the 1964 Beacon paperback original titled 'The Sex Shuffle' under the pseudonym Sheldon Lord, catalogue B757X.

How Beacon marked a first edition

• Beacon used B-prefixed catalog numbers on the cover and spine (the early B-100 through roughly the B-700s, with Softcover Library taking over near B-800); the number identifies the title and approximate era.
• First printing: most Beacon titles are paperback originals that were never reprinted, so absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page is the working test, and essentially all surviving copies are first p…

Full Beacon first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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?

Originally issued in 1964 as a pseudonymous Beacon softcover under the title 'The Sex Shuffle' by 'Sheldon Lord'. It was later reissued under Block's own name as 'Lucky at Cards' by Hard Case Crime in 2007. The 1970 Softcover Library printing is a reprint, not the first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The Hard Case Crime edition of 2007 is a later first-thus under the retitled 'Lucky at Cards'; it is not the true first appearance of the text.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Lucky at Cards a first edition?

A first edition of Lucky at Cards by Lawrence Block (Beacon) is identified by: The true first appearance is the 1964 Beacon paperback original titled 'The Sex Shuffle' under the pseudonym Sheldon Lord, catalogue B757X.

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. Originally issued in 1964 as a pseudonymous Beacon softcover under the title 'The Sex Shuffle' by 'Sheldon Lord'.

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

The Hard Case Crime edition of 2007 is a later first-thus under the retitled 'Lucky at Cards'; it is not the true first appearance of the text.

I have a first edition of Lucky at Cards — what should I do?

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 lost. To sell, see the author’s collecting guide. Either way, nothing collectible ends up in a landfill.

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.