# Is "Pebble in the Sky" by Isaac Asimov a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov (Doubleday, 1950) is identified by: "First Edition" stated on the copyright page, with 1950 on both the title and copyright pages. US Doubleday is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- "First Edition" stated on the copyright page, with 1950 on both the title and copyright pages
- Grey cloth with orange spine lettering and a green top stain, in a pictorial dust jacket priced 2.50 on the front flap, the rear panel carrying a photograph and biography of Asimov
- Asimov's first published novel in hardcover
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Isaac Asimov |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Year | 1950 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | "First Edition" stated on the copyright page, with 1950 on both the title and copyright pages |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
"First Edition" stated on the copyright page, with 1950 on both the title and copyright pages. Grey cloth with orange spine lettering and a green top stain, in a pictorial dust jacket priced 2.50 on the front flap, the rear panel carrying a photograph and biography of Asimov. Asimov's first published novel in hardcover.

## Is this the true first?
US Doubleday is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The principal later issue is a 1951 printing that retains the 1950 dates but lacks the stated "First Edition" line and carries a lower flap price; the absence of the "First Edition" statement is the key distinguishing point. Doubleday's gutter-code dating system did not begin until the late 1950s, so neither the true first nor any contemporaneous reissue of this 1950 title bears a gutter code.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Pebble in the Sky* by Isaac Asimov a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/pebble-in-the-sky
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.