Is My Magician a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page, per Doubleday's long-standing practice; copies lacking that statement are later printings
• Collates 545 pages, bound in publisher's black paper boards over a black cloth spine lettered in red and silver
• Doubleday applied a gutter code at the foot of the last page of text for both trade and club printings from 1958 to mid-1987, so a 1982 first will carry one and it can be used to date the impression; gutter codes indicating early 1983 have been reported on unstated copies, consistent with a second printing
• Issued in a priced jacket, with the price present at the flap on unclipped copies

How Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York marked a first edition

• Mid-1958–early 1959: numerical gutter code (1–52) on the last page of text indicating the WEEK of printing. Early 1959–1987: added a LETTER code before the week code indicating the YEAR.

Full Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York 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. 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.
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 Doubleday first of October 1982 is the true first, single volume — the census claim is correct on publisher, city and year but WRONG on the UK edition. The 1983 Granada (London) first UK edition did NOT split the text: it was issued as a single volume in both hardcover and paperback, and is cataloged by ABA/ILAB dealers as the first British edition, scarcer than the American. The split into Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master was made by Bantam Spectra for the US paperback market in 1986, not by Granada. The 1992 tenth-anniversary "Author's Preferred Edition" restores roughly 15,000 words cut from the 1982 text and is a revised text — a "first thus," not a first edition — so the 1982 Doubleday remains the only first-state text.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The book-club edition is well documented and is separable from the trade first by binding and collation: the club copy runs 568 pages and is bound in black paper boards over a black cloth spine lettered in TURQUOISE, against the trade first's red and silver lettering and 545 pages. A gutter code reading N01 (page 567) has been recorded on a club copy. Standard Doubleday club tells also apply: a blind-stamped square at the lower corner of the rear board, "Book Club Edition" printed at the jacket flap corner, and no price at the jacket flap.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Magician a first edition?

A first edition of Magician by Raymond E. Feist (Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York) is identified by: The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page, per Doubleday's long-standing practice; copies lacking that statement are later printings.

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. US Doubleday first of October 1982 is the true first, single volume — the census claim is correct on publisher, city and year but WRONG on the UK edition.

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

The book-club edition is well documented and is separable from the trade first by binding and collation: the club copy runs 568 pages and is bound in black paper boards over a black cloth spine lettered in TURQUOISE, against the trade first's red and silver lettering and 545 pages. A gutter code reading N01 (page 567) has been recorded on a club copy. Standard Doubleday club tells also apply: a blind-stamped square at the lower corner of the rear board, "Book Club Edition" printed at the jacket

I have a first edition of Magician — 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.