Is My Radio Free Albemuth a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing carries the full number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page — the operative test; any copy whose line has been stripped of the terminal 1 is a later printing
• Quarter navy cloth over boards, spine lettered in light blue; collation [10], 3-214, [2] pp.; ISBN 0877957622
• Jacket art by Ron Walotsky, jacket design by Dorothy Wachtenheim, price present at the front flap
• No first-state text errors are documented

How Arbor House marked a first edition

• Check for a descending number line on the copyright page (e.g. '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1'). The lowest number present indicates the printing, so a line that still includes '1' marks a first printing; a line whose lowest digi…
• Use the two marks together as the strongest confirmation: a first printing of a 1980s Arbor House hardcover generally shows a 'First Edition' statement together with a complete number line ending in 1. Where only the num…

Full Arbor House 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 US 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?

US posthumous original; the census claim is correct. Written in 1976 and set aside after Dick reworked the material into VALIS; Arbor House acquired it in 1985 and published it from the corrected typescript Dick had given his friend Tim Powers. There is no earlier edition in any territory and no original-language precedence issue. The first British publications both come two years later and are true seconds: the Grafton paperback (London, 1987) and the Severn House hardcover (London, 1987).

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A Science Fiction Book Club hardcover followed in 1986 using the same Walotsky jacket art, and it is routinely miscatalogued online as "Arbor House 1985" — this is the main trap. Tells: no Arbor House number line on the copyright page, no price at the jacket front flap, a blind-stamped device at the rear board, and a smaller, lighter bulk. The Avon paperback (1987) and Vintage trade paperback (1998) are plainly imprinted reprints.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Radio Free Albemuth a first edition?

A first edition of Radio Free Albemuth by Philip K. Dick (Arbor House) is identified by: First printing carries the full number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page — the operative test; any copy whose line has been stripped of the terminal 1 is a later printing.

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). US posthumous original; the census claim is correct.

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

A Science Fiction Book Club hardcover followed in 1986 using the same Walotsky jacket art, and it is routinely miscatalogued online as "Arbor House 1985" — this is the main trap. Tells: no Arbor House number line on the copyright page, no price at the jacket front flap, a blind-stamped device at the rear board, and a smaller, lighter bulk. The Avon paperback (1987) and Vintage trade paperback (1998) are plainly imprinted reprints.

I have a first edition of Radio Free Albemuth — 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.