Is My Petals on the Wind a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Mass-market paperback original from Pocket Books, 1980; look for a complete first-printing number line on the copyright page and no later reprint dating
• Second Dollanganger novel, sequel to Flowers in the Attic

How Pocket Books marked a first edition

• First printing was typically stated on the copyright page in the early and mid era; later printings add a printing line (2nd printing, and so on), so the absence of any later-printing statement indicates a first.
• Modern Pocket Books uses a number line; a complete line ending in 1 indicates a first printing.

Full Pocket Books 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 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.
3. 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.
4. 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 Pocket Books paperback original is the true first. Like the other early Dollanganger titles, Petals on the Wind was issued as a paperback original with no trade hardcover trade edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A hardcover Book Club Edition does exist (issued through Simon & Schuster/Pocket), so the earlier note that there is no BCE is incorrect. The BCE is a hardcover with dust jacket and can be distinguished from the true first paperback by format alone; later paperback printings show a shortened number line.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Petals on the Wind a first edition?

A first edition of Petals on the Wind by V.C. Andrews (Pocket Books) is identified by: Mass-market paperback original from Pocket Books, 1980; look for a complete first-printing number line on the copyright page and no later reprint dating.

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). The Pocket Books paperback original is the true first.

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

A hardcover Book Club Edition does exist (issued through Simon & Schuster/Pocket), so the earlier note that there is no BCE is incorrect. The BCE is a hardcover with dust jacket and can be distinguished from the true first paperback by format alone; later paperback printings show a shortened number line.

I have a first edition of Petals on the Wind — 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.