Is My Copy of 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 UK first was a paperback; 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.P-022452

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?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.