Is My Mr. Punch (The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first was published in the UK by Victor Gollancz in 1994 as a trade paperback (ISBN 0-575-05318-6)
• The US edition, published the same year by DC's Vertigo imprint, appeared as a hardcover (ISBN 1-56389-181-6) and is the first US edition; a US Vertigo trade paperback followed in 1995

How Victor Gollancz marked a first edition

• From 1984 onward: began stating "First published in [Year] by Victor Gollancz Ltd" on the copyright page of firsts

Full Victor Gollancz first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Read the indicia — a first-printing single issue carries no later-printing line; a collected edition is “first thus,” not the true first.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

Format & printing

This title first appeared as a single issue / periodical, not a trade book. The true first is the first-printing single issue; later trade paperbacks or hardcover collections are “first thus.” Check the indicia (the small-print publication block) for a printing statement.

Is this the true first?

The UK Gollancz 1994 trade paperback is the true first edition. The original record described the true first as a hardcover, which is incorrect: the UK first was a paperback, and the hardcover form belongs to the first US Vertigo edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Vertigo printings and subsequent editions are reprints, not the first edition.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Mr. Punch (The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch) a first edition?

A first edition of Mr. Punch (The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch) by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean (Victor Gollancz) is identified by: The true first was published in the UK by Victor Gollancz in 1994 as a trade paperback (ISBN 0-575-05318-6).

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. For a single issue, the indicia shows the printing. The UK Gollancz 1994 trade paperback is the true first edition.

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

Later Vertigo printings and subsequent editions are reprints, not the first edition.

I have a first edition of Mr. Punch (The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch) — what should I do?

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 lost. To sell, see the author’s collecting guide. Either way, nothing collectible ends up in a landfill.

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.