Is My Copy of Sacred Clowns a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The trade first is HarperCollins, New York, 1993 (ISBN 0-06-016767-X), octavo, 305 pp., bound in half white cloth over rust-colored boards, in a priced jacket with cover art by Peter Thorpe depicting a koshare (Pueblo sacred clown) against a pueblo village in an oval
• Dealers identify the first printing by the "FIRST EDITION" statement on the copyright page; the Quill & Brush publisher guide records that HarperCollins states "First Edition" alongside a number row and warns the statement was sometimes left standing on later printings, so the number row must be checked as well
• Two separate signed limited issues exist and are not the trade first: a signed, slipcased limited of 526 copies (500 numbered for sale plus 26 lettered a to z, per the limitation leaf recorded by the UNM Hillerman Portal), and Buffalo Medicine Press copies carrying an original hand-drawn or watercolored Ernest Franklin illustration tipped in at the half-title

How HarperCollins marked a first edition

• 1990–present (HarperCollins): imprint reads 'HarperCollins' (News Corp merged Harper & Row with the UK's William Collins in 1990). Through the 1990s a first printing shows 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page together…

Full HarperCollins 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 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?

It is not a US-only first: a first UK edition was published by Michael Joseph, London, also dated 1993 (ISBN 0-7181-3527-X, jacket illustration by Janet Pontin), recorded by the Tony Hillerman Portal (University of New Mexico); some listings date the Michael Joseph 1994. The US HarperCollins printing is the edition collected as the true first for this American author and American publisher; the Michael Joseph is collected as the first UK. Both are collected, and neither should be described as the only first.P-045941

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Sacred Clowns was a Mystery Guild selection and a Literary Guild / Doubleday Book Club alternate, so club copies are common. Tells: a blind stamp (dot, circle, square or similar) impressed into the rear board near the spine; no price present at the jacket flap; frequently a small contrasting code block on the rear panel and a vertical string of numbers near the margin of the last page. A club copy can still print "First Edition" on the copyright page — the physical tells govern.P-043342

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Sacred Clowns a first edition?

A first edition of Sacred Clowns by Tony Hillerman (HarperCollins) is identified by: The trade first is HarperCollins, New York, 1993 (ISBN 0-06-016767-X), octavo, 305 pp., bound in half white cloth over rust-colored boards, in a priced jacket with cover art by Peter Thorpe depicting a koshare (Pueblo sacred clown) against a pueblo village in an oval.

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. It is not a US-only first: a first UK edition was published by Michael Joseph, London, also dated 1993 (ISBN 0-7181-3527-X, jacket illustration by Janet Pontin), recorded by the Tony Hillerman Portal (University of New Mexico); some listings date the Michael Joseph 1994.

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

Sacred Clowns was a Mystery Guild selection and a Literary Guild / Doubleday Book Club alternate, so club copies are common. Tells: a blind stamp (dot, circle, square or similar) impressed into the rear board near the spine; no price present at the jacket flap; frequently a small contrasting code block on the rear panel and a vertical string of numbers near the margin of the last page. A club copy can still print "First Edition" on the copyright page — the physical tells govern.

I have a first edition of Sacred Clowns — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.