# Is "Magician" by Raymond E. Feist a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Magician by Raymond E. Feist (Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York, 1982) 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. 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.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Raymond E. Feist |
| Publisher | Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York |
| Year | 1982 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page, per Doubleday's long-standing practice; copies lacking that statement are… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Magician* by Raymond E. Feist a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/magician
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.