Is My My Name Is Red a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Both English editions appeared in 2001, in different formats, so format is decisive
• The US Knopf edition is a hardcover (Borzoi Books) stating 'First Edition' with the Borzoi colophon; translated by Erdağ M. Göknar, with the price present at the front flap
• The UK Faber and Faber edition of the same translation was issued in 2001 as a paperback original — no UK hardback was published
• Collectors seeking a first English hardcover therefore look to the Knopf printing; those who privilege earliest English appearance must weigh the Faber paperback original (an uncommon first impression)

How Alfred A. Knopf marked a first edition

• c.1970s onward (number-line era, added ALONGSIDE the words — it did not replace them): later Knopf firsts also carry a descending numeric printer's key (often with a manufacturing/printer code). A first printing shows th…

Full Alfred A. Knopf 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. 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 absolute true first in any language is the Turkish 'Benim Adım Kırmızı' (İletişim Yayınları, Istanbul, 1998). The English firsts are both 2001 — the US Knopf hardcover and the UK Faber paperback original — in Göknar's translation. The English translation won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2003, and Pamuk won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006.P-037063

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No major club edition is involved. Among English printings, note that the UK Faber 2001 was a paperback original with no UK hardback, while the US Knopf 2001 is the first (and only) English hardcover; precedence depends on whether you privilege format (Knopf hardcover) or earliest appearance (weigh the Faber paperback). The 1998 Turkish İletişim edition precedes all English printings.P-037064

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of My Name Is Red a first edition?

A first edition of My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk (Alfred A. Knopf) is identified by: Both English editions appeared in 2001, in different formats, so format is decisive.

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 absolute true first in any language is the Turkish 'Benim Adım Kırmızı' (İletişim Yayınları, Istanbul, 1998).

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

No major club edition is involved. Among English printings, note that the UK Faber 2001 was a paperback original with no UK hardback, while the US Knopf 2001 is the first (and only) English hardcover; precedence depends on whether you privilege format (Knopf hardcover) or earliest appearance (weigh the Faber paperback). The 1998 Turkish İletişim edition precedes all English printings.

I have a first edition of My Name Is Red — 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.