Is My Past Tense a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Octavo, bound in deep charcoal boards with gilt stamping to the spine; 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page above a complete number line ending in 1, with the line running 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
• Issued in a color pictorial dust jacket that should carry the publisher's printed price at the top of the front flap
• Publisher-issued autographed copies (a distinct ISBN) add a round 'Signed Copy' seal to the jacket front; the underlying sheets and number line are identical to the trade first

How Delacorte Press marked a first edition

• "First printing" or "First Edition" stated on the copyright page, frequently paired with a number line ending in 1
• Vonnegut-era Delacorte / Seymour Lawrence books: look for an explicit "First printing" statement on the copyright page (e.g. Slaughterhouse-Five is a stated first printing)

Full Delacorte Press 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?

US Delacorte Press first, the twenty-third Jack Reacher novel. The US Delacorte and UK Bantam Press hardbacks were both released on 5 November 2018, so the two editions are effectively simultaneous firsts; each is the true first for its own market.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No true book-club issue is a concern here; later Delacorte printings drop the number 1 from the number line while retaining the 'First Edition' slug, so the low number is the operative point.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Past Tense a first edition?

A first edition of Past Tense by Lee Child (Delacorte Press) is identified by: Octavo, bound in deep charcoal boards with gilt stamping to the spine; 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page above a complete number line ending in 1, with the line running 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1.

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). US Delacorte Press first, the twenty-third Jack Reacher novel.

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

No true book-club issue is a concern here; later Delacorte printings drop the number 1 from the number line while retaining the 'First Edition' slug, so the low number is the operative point.

I have a first edition of Past Tense — 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.