Is My Middle Passage a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First Edition stated on the copyright page above a full descending number line
• Atheneum (New York) imprint; quarter black cloth over maroon paper boards, gilt spine lettering and blind stamping to the front board; first-issue dust jacket priced on the front flap

How Atheneum marked a first edition

• Rule for the number-line era: the lowest number present indicates the printing, so a first printing must still show a 1 in the row. If the 1 (and any lower digits) have dropped off and the line begins at 2 or higher, it…
• Transitional caution: near the changeover a book may carry BOTH a 'First Edition' statement and a number row. When both are present, treat the terminal-1 number row as governing, because a printed 'First Edition' line ca…

Full Atheneum 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 Atheneum hardcover of 1990 is the true first edition. It won the 1990 National Book Award for Fiction and had a comparatively small first printing.P-004530

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club editions lack the first-edition statement and the printed jacket price, are usually smaller and lighter, and carry a blind stamp to the rear board.P-004531

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Middle Passage a first edition?

A first edition of Middle Passage by Charles Johnson (Atheneum) is identified by: First Edition stated on the copyright page above a full descending number line; Atheneum (New York) imprint; quarter black cloth over maroon paper boards, gilt spine lettering and blind stamping to the front board; first-issue dust jacket priced on the front flap.

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 Atheneum hardcover of 1990 is the true first edition.

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

Book-club editions lack the first-edition statement and the printed jacket price, are usually smaller and lighter, and carry a blind stamp to the rear board.

I have a first edition of Middle Passage — 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.