Is My Magic for Beginners a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first is the Small Beer Press hardcover, published July 2005 (not September), ISBN 1-931520-15-1
• Small Beer issued the hardcover in two states: a signed, hand-numbered limited edition of 150 copies in cobalt-blue pearl linen cloth with two tipped-in plates, and a trade hardcover
• Both precede the later mass-market Harcourt/Harvest trade edition
• A true first carries no later-printing notice; second printing followed in October 2005

How Small Beer Press marked a first edition

• Trade first printing states 'First edition' on the copyright page with a number line whose lowest digit is 1; a missing 1 indicates a later printing
• Big Mouth House and Peapod Classics use the same parent conventions with the imprint name on the title or copyright page

Full Small Beer Press 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. 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 US Small Beer Press hardcover (2005) is the true first. The later Harcourt/Harvest (2006) trade paperback is a first-thus, not the first. Within the Small Beer issue, the signed limited of 150 in linen cloth is the most distinctive state, with the unsigned trade hardcover also a true first.P-017875

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Any Harcourt or Harvest imprint copy is a later trade edition, not the first. Later Small Beer printings, including the October 2005 second printing, add an impression line.P-017876

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Magic for Beginners a first edition?

A first edition of Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link (Small Beer Press) is identified by: True first is the Small Beer Press hardcover, published July 2005 (not September), ISBN 1-931520-15-1 (9781931520157).

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. The US Small Beer Press hardcover (2005) is the true first.

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

Any Harcourt or Harvest imprint copy is a later trade edition, not the first. Later Small Beer printings, including the October 2005 second printing, add an impression line.

I have a first edition of Magic for Beginners — 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.