Is My Piranesi a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Both Bloomsbury printings are dated September 15, 2020, and first printings are identified by a complete number line on the copyright page: dealers describe the London printing (ISBN 978-1-5266-2242-6) as carrying the full 1–10 line, and later impressions have the low numbers stripped, so the presence of the 1 is the point
• The New York printing (ISBN 978-1-6355-7563-7) is a separate setting with its own full line
• Both trade issues were published in hardback in a pictorial jacket, which should be present and priced at the flap
• Two retailer exclusives are documented and are not the trade first: the Waterstones edition (ISBN 978-1-5266-3100-8) carries the author's signature on a bound-in leaf and an exclusive extra chapter, 'Two Interviews' (two interviews conducted by Dr Ketterley) — added text makes it a distinct issue, not merely a signed copy; and the Barnes & Noble exclusive (ISBN 978-1-6355-7675-7) is bound in black boards with a copper-foil column motif and carries a sticker to the front panel

How Bloomsbury — London and New York, both September 15, 2020 marked a first edition

• First printings carry a full descending number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page; the lowest number (1) present = first printing

Full Bloomsbury — London and New York, both September 15, 2020 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 UK 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?

Simultaneous — and the census's assertion that 'the UK printing is generally taken as primary' could not be established as a rule; treat precedence as unsettled rather than stating it. Bloomsbury published Piranesi in London and in New York on the same day, September 15, 2020. Both are collected and both should be named: the London printing (978-1-5266-2242-6) is the home-market issue for an English author and is what Wikipedia and UK dealers illustrate as the 'first UK edition'; the New York printing (978-1-6355-7563-7) is the US first. Neither has demonstrable priority over the other on the evidence consulted, and no bibliography adjudicates it. The 2025 Folio Society illustrated edition and the retailer exclusives are separate issues or 'first thus'.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented for this title. The tells that matter are impression and issue tells rather than club tells: a stripped number line marks a later impression, and the two retailer exclusives — the Waterstones issue (signed bound-in leaf plus the extra chapter 'Two Interviews') and the Barnes & Noble issue (black boards, copper-foil columns, front-panel sticker) — were sold alongside the trade first and are neither reprints nor the trade first. The Folio Society illustrated edition (2025) is a later issue.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Piranesi a first edition?

A first edition of Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury — London and New York, both September 15, 2020) is identified by: Both Bloomsbury printings are dated September 15, 2020, and first printings are identified by a complete number line on the copyright page: dealers describe the London printing (ISBN 978-1-5266-2242-6) as carrying the full 1–10 line, and later impressions have the low numbers stripped, so the presence of the 1 is the point.

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). Simultaneous — and the census's assertion that 'the UK printing is generally taken as primary' could not be established as a rule; treat precedence as unsettled rather than stating it.

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

No book-club edition is documented for this title. The tells that matter are impression and issue tells rather than club tells: a stripped number line marks a later impression, and the two retailer exclusives — the Waterstones issue (signed bound-in leaf plus the extra chapter 'Two Interviews') and the Barnes & Noble issue (black boards, copper-foil columns, front-panel sticker) — were sold alongside the trade first and are neither reprints nor the trade first. The Folio Society illustrated edit

I have a first edition of Piranesi — 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.