Is My Ring (Ringu) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the Japanese hardcover (単行本) published by Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyo, June 1991, ISBN 4-04-872645-5
• Japanese first printings are identified at the colophon (奥付) in the rear, which carries the printing date and the 初版 (shohan / first edition) statement — later Kadokawa printings of the same 1991 hardcover differ only there — and a complete copy retains the original obi (belly band)
• The first English edition is Vertical, Inc., New York, 2003, ISBN 1-932234-00-4, hardcover, 286 pp., translated by Robert B. Rohmer and Glynne Walley, jacket designed by Chip Kidd; specialist dealers catalogue it as the first American edition, in a jacket with the price present at the flap
• No first-state text errors are documented for either edition

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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. 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?

The Japanese Kadokawa Shoten hardcover (Tokyo, June 1991) is the true first and precedes any English text by twelve years; the Vertical (New York, 2003) hardcover is the first edition in English, and both are collected. The HarperCollins UK editions (2004; revised 2007, ISBN 9780007240135) follow Vertical and are not the first English appearance. The census claim is confirmed.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No Western-style book-club issue applies. The reprint traps are the Kadokawa Horror Bunko paperback (24 April 1993, ISBN 4-04-188001-7), which is where the book's mass readership actually began and is very commonly offered as "the 1991 first," and the post-1998 film tie-in printings. On the English side, the HarperCollins 2004 and revised 2007 texts are "first thus," not firsts.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Ring (Ringu) a first edition?

A first edition of Ring (Ringu) by Koji Suzuki (Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyo) is identified by: The true first is the Japanese hardcover (単行本) published by Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyo, June 1991, ISBN 4-04-872645-5.

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 Japanese Kadokawa Shoten hardcover (Tokyo, June 1991) is the true first and precedes any English text by twelve years; the Vertical (New York, 2003) hardcover is the first edition in English, and both are collected.

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

No Western-style book-club issue applies. The reprint traps are the Kadokawa Horror Bunko paperback (24 April 1993, ISBN 4-04-188001-7), which is where the book's mass readership actually began and is very commonly offered as "the 1991 first," and the post-1998 film tie-in printings. On the English side, the HarperCollins 2004 and revised 2007 texts are "first thus," not firsts.

I have a first edition of Ring (Ringu) — 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.