Is My Possum Magic a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing: Omnibus Books, Adelaide, 1983, published 31 March 1983 — a square quarto, unpaginated, issued in glazed pictorial laminated boards AS ISSUED, with no dust jacket called for; a copy offered in a dust jacket should be treated with suspicion, since the first was not jacketed
• Two independent Australian dealer catalogue descriptions agree on the square-quarto format and on the glazed pictorial boards 'as issued', and both identify the 1983 Omnibus Adelaide issue as the first edition, first printing
• The ISBN of the first is 0-949641-05-2
• No number line is used, so identification rests on the Omnibus Books imprint, the Adelaide place of publication, and the 1983 date on the copyright page, with the absence of any added printing statement
• One dealer reports a first print run of 5,000 copies; that figure is not independently corroborated and should not be repeated as fact

How Omnibus Books marked a first edition

• UK number-line convention on the copyright/imprint page; lowest number indicates the printing, '1' present = first printing.
• Some titles carry only a printing/order code rather than a full key — when no key is present, rely on stated copyright year, ISBN, and absence of later-printing notices.

Full Omnibus 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. 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 Australian 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?

Australian original — the census claim is correct, and there is no competing UK, US, or original-language edition for 1983. Omnibus Books, Adelaide, 1983 is the true first. Mem Fox wrote the first draft in 1978 during a children's literature course at Flinders University; it was rejected by nine publishers over five years before Omnibus accepted it and asked her to cut the text by two-thirds. Overseas editions follow years later and are 'first thus', not firsts; only the Omnibus 1983 is the first edition. Later Omnibus and Omnibus/Scholastic Australia reissues retain the original imprint and are not firsts, which is the main trap on this title.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented. Because Possum Magic has been continuously in print since 1983 under an imprint that never changed name, later printings under the original Omnibus imprint are common and are the principal reprint trap — check the copyright page for added printing statements or a later impression line. Other tells: an Omnibus Books/Scholastic Australia joint imprint, a barcode printed on the rear board, or a later ISBN all indicate a reprint. the printed pricet, 30th, and 40th Anniversary editions (the last with added material), plus board-book, mini, and gift/plush-set issues, are 'first thus' traps.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Possum Magic a first edition?

A first edition of Possum Magic by Mem Fox (illus. Julie Vivas) (Omnibus Books) is identified by: First printing: Omnibus Books, Adelaide, 1983, published 31 March 1983 — a square quarto, unpaginated, issued in glazed pictorial laminated boards AS ISSUED, with no dust jacket called for; a copy offered in a dust jacket should be treated with suspicion, since the first was not jacketed.

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). Australian original — the census claim is correct, and there is no competing UK, US, or original-language edition for 1983.

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

No book-club edition documented. Because Possum Magic has been continuously in print since 1983 under an imprint that never changed name, later printings under the original Omnibus imprint are common and are the principal reprint trap — check the copyright page for added printing statements or a later impression line. Other tells: an Omnibus Books/Scholastic Australia joint imprint, a barcode printed on the rear board, or a later ISBN all indicate a reprint. the printed pricet, 30th, and 40th An

I have a first edition of Possum Magic — 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.