Is My Missing Person (Rue des boutiques obscures) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the Gallimard "Blanche" trade paperback (broché) issued 5 September 1978: in-8°, 14 x 20.5 cm, 214 pp
• (dealer collations cite 213–214), in the plain cream Gallimard wrappers with the red-and-black rule frame
• ISBNs were not yet used in France in 1978, so no ISBN belongs to the true first — the ISBN shown on the current Gallimard catalogue page is a modern Blanche reissue, not a first-edition point
• As is standard for the Blanche collection, ordinary trade copies carry NO "première édition" statement; the first printing is identified by the 1978 achevé d'imprimer and the ABSENCE of any later reprint date on the justification leaf
• The premier tirage (grand papier / tirage de tête) is the collector's ideal: 35 numbered copies on vélin d'Arches (Arjomari-Prioux), the only large-paper issue
• Genuine first-issue trade copies are frequently "service de presse" (press) copies; the most desirable bear Modiano's autograph inscription (envoi)

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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?

The true first edition is the 1978 French Rue des boutiques obscures (Éditions Gallimard, Paris, collection Blanche, 5 September 1978) — Modiano's sixth novel and winner of the 1978 Prix Goncourt (awarded 20 November 1978), which anchors its status as his most-collected title and his best-known novel in English. The first English-language edition is Missing Person, translated by Daniel Weissbort, published by Jonathan Cape (London) in 1980 (ISBN 0224017896). The first US edition did not appear until 2004, from David R. Godine / Verba Mundi (Boston), reusing Weissbort's 1980 translation (ISBN 1567922813).

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition governs this title in the way that trips up US-market collectors. The traps are Gallimard-specific: (1) later printings of the Blanche edition are near-identical to the first except for an added later achevé d'imprimer / reprint date on the justification leaf — always check that leaf; (2) the ubiquitous Collection Folio pocket paperback (Folio no. 1358, from 1982) and the later "L'Imaginaire" reissue are cheap reprints, not firsts; (3) a "service de presse" (SP) copy is a genuine first-printing press copy and is desirable, not a lesser state; (4) on the English side, the 2004 Godine "Verba Mundi" paperback is a modern reprint of the 1980 Cape translation, not a first English edition.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Missing Person (Rue des boutiques obscures) a first edition?

A first edition of Missing Person (Rue des boutiques obscures) by Patrick Modiano (Éditions Gallimard, collection Blanche) is identified by: The true first is the Gallimard "Blanche" trade paperback (broché) issued 5 September 1978: in-8°, 14 x 20.5 cm, 214 pp.

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 true first edition is the 1978 French Rue des boutiques obscures (Éditions Gallimard, Paris, collection Blanche, 5 September 1978) — Modiano's sixth novel and winner of the 1978 Prix Goncourt (awarded 20 November 1978), which anchors its status as his most-collected title and his best-known novel in English.

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

No book-club edition governs this title in the way that trips up US-market collectors. The traps are Gallimard-specific: (1) later printings of the Blanche edition are near-identical to the first except for an added later achevé d'imprimer / reprint date on the justification leaf — always check that leaf; (2) the ubiquitous Collection Folio pocket paperback (Folio no. 1358, from 1982) and the later "L'Imaginaire" reissue are cheap reprints, not firsts; (3) a "service de presse" (SP) copy is a ge

I have a first edition of Missing Person (Rue des boutiques obscures) — 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.