Is My Pick-Up a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first is the paperback original from Beacon Books, 1955 — a small octavo in pictorial pictorial wrappers, roughly 191 pages, with the printed cover price present
• No hardcover precedes it
• Multiple ABAA dealers (L.W. Currey, Burnside Rare Books) catalog the first printing as Beacon #B-109 (not B102)
• The wrap-around cover art had earlier appeared on George Weller's 'Highway Episode' (Royal Giant #21, 1953)
• A scarce and sought-after Willeford paperback original

How Beacon Books marked a first edition

• Beacon used B-prefixed catalog numbers on the cover and spine (the early B-100 through roughly the B-700s, with Softcover Library taking over near B-800); the number identifies the title and approximate era.
• First printing: most Beacon titles are paperback originals that were never reprinted, so absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page is the working test, and essentially all surviving copies are first p…

Full Beacon 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. 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. 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.
5. 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 1955 Beacon paperback original is the true first. Modern reprints (Black Lizard/Vintage Crime, Re/Search) are first-thus only.P-004566

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition. Distinguish the 1955 Beacon #B-109 first printing in pictorial wrappers from later reprints; verify the Beacon catalog number on the cover/spine.P-004567

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Pick-Up a first edition?

A first edition of Pick-Up by Charles Willeford (Beacon Books) is identified by: True first is the paperback original from Beacon Books, 1955 — a small octavo in pictorial pictorial wrappers, roughly 191 pages, with the printed cover price present.

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 1955 Beacon paperback original is the true first.

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

No book-club edition. Distinguish the 1955 Beacon #B-109 first printing in pictorial wrappers from later reprints; verify the Beacon catalog number on the cover/spine.

I have a first edition of Pick-Up — 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.