Is My Rogue Moon a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Fawcett Gold Medal, Greenwich, Connecticut — a paperback original, November 1960, Gold Medal stock number s1057, 176 pp, cover art by Richard M. Powers
• The first printing is identified by the s1057 stock number on the front cover and spine, the November 1960 dating, and the original cover price present and unaltered on the front wrapper
• No hardcover preceded it, and there is no earlier state to look for
• Copies bearing Gold Medal L1474 are a LATER Fawcett reprint, not the first printing — the L-prefix denotes a later Gold Medal series designation; at least one dealer currently offers an L1474 copy catalogued as 'First Edition PBO', which is an error and is the single most common misidentification of this title

How Fawcett Gold Medal marked a first edition

• Gold Medal pioneered the PAPERBACK ORIGINAL — so the Gold Medal paperback is itself the first edition (no prior hardcover) for most of its crime/noir list. Identification centers on first-PRINTING points, not first-editi…
• First printing is identified by the Gold Medal serial number and the copyright-page printing notice: a true first usually has NO 'Second printing'/'Third printing' line; later printings explicitly state the printing and…

Full Fawcett Gold Medal 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. 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 paperback original IS the first edition — the hardcover-first assumption fails outright here, exactly as the census states. L.W. Currey confirms the 1960 Fawcett Gold Medal paperback original as the true first edition. The first hardcover is Gregg Press, Boston, 1977, in The Gregg Press Science Fiction Series: text offset from the 1960 Fawcett edition, with new introductions by Budrys and Joseph Milicia, copyright page stating 'First Printing, June 1977'. Per Currey, the Gregg Press edition was issued in cloth WITHOUT a dust jacket — so a Gregg copy 'lacking its jacket' is complete as issued, and any jacket on one is foreign to it. The first UK hardcover is Victor Gollancz, London, 1978. Neither hardcover displaces the 1960 Gold Medal.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Gregg Press (1977) and Gollancz (1978) are hardcover reprints, not firsts, and are routinely miscatalogued as first editions because they are the earliest hardcovers. Budrys's own preferred title was The Death Machine, and the edition under that title (Unifont, Poughkeepsie, New York, 2001) is a later 'first thus', restoring his preferred title. A shorter version preceded the novel in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Reports that the 1960 Gold Medal text was itself cut by the publisher and later restored appear in circulation but were NOT confirmed in the sources consulted and should not be repeated as fact.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Rogue Moon a first edition?

A first edition of Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys (Fawcett Gold Medal) is identified by: Fawcett Gold Medal, Greenwich, Connecticut — a paperback original, November 1960, Gold Medal stock number s1057, 176 pp, cover art by Richard M.

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 paperback original IS the first edition — the hardcover-first assumption fails outright here, exactly as the census states.

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

Gregg Press (1977) and Gollancz (1978) are hardcover reprints, not firsts, and are routinely miscatalogued as first editions because they are the earliest hardcovers. Budrys's own preferred title was The Death Machine, and the edition under that title (Unifont, Poughkeepsie, New York, 2001) is a later 'first thus', restoring his preferred title. A shorter version preceded the novel in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Reports that the 1960 Gold Medal text was itself cut by the publisher

I have a first edition of Rogue Moon — 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.