Is My Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Omnibus story collection gathering forty-six stories in 675 pages
• Tor hardcover (Tom Doherty Associates, New York, 1990), ISBN 0312850476, with 'First edition' stated on the copyright page and a full number line ending in 1
• Jacket art is by Carol Russo; a first-state jacket retains the printed Tor price on the front flap (an unclipped flap is preferred)
• Confirm both the stated line and the terminal 1 in the number line, since later Tor printings reset the number line while keeping the same jacket art

How Tor Books marked a first edition

• Tor's reliable test: the explicit 'First Edition' line PLUS the number line — both must be present for a hardcover first.

Full Tor Books 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?

The US Tor hardcover (1990) is the true first comprehensive collection of Card's short fiction.P-023259

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

An SFBC edition exists and is typically thinner and lighter with a gutter-code blindstamp to the rear board and no printed price on the jacket; it lacks the Tor number line and is not the first edition.P-023260

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card a first edition?

A first edition of Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card by Orson Scott Card (Tor Books) is identified by: Omnibus story collection gathering forty-six stories in 675 pages.

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). The US Tor hardcover (1990) is the true first comprehensive collection of Card's short fiction.

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

An SFBC edition exists and is typically thinner and lighter with a gutter-code blindstamp to the rear board and no printed price on the jacket; it lacks the Tor number line and is not the first edition.

I have a first edition of Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card — 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.