Is My Shadow and Bone a First Edition?

The points of issue

• US first printing: the copyright page carries the statement "First Edition — 2012" with a complete descending number line beneath it running down to 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1)
• The decisive check is the number line: the "First Edition" line can persist into later Holt printings while the low digits are stripped from the line, so a copy whose line does not reach 1 is a reprint regardless of what the edition statement says
• Binding is black boards; issued in a pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the flap (unclipped)
• Two independent dealer descriptions transcribe these points identically
• No first-state text error is documented for this title

How Henry Holt and Co. marked a first edition

• After 1985: first-edition statement PLUS a number row (presence of '1' = first).

Full Henry Holt and Co. 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?

The census claim that the US Holt edition is the true first does NOT survive on strict chronological precedence and is corrected here. The book appeared first in Britain under a different title — "The Gathering Dark" (Indigo, an imprint of Orion Children's Books, London) — as a trade-paperback original, dated 17 May 2012 by contemporaneous UK sources, roughly three weeks ahead of the US Henry Holt hardcover of 5 June 2012. The Indigo issue is therefore the first appearance in book form, though it is a paperback original with no UK hardcover issue. The Holt hardcover is the first edition under the title "Shadow and Bone," the first hardcover anywhere, and the issue chiefly pursued. Both are collected; name both. Caveat on the margin: some databases give the Indigo date as early June rather than mid-May, so the UK lead is narrow — verify the Indigo date independently before relying on it.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented for this title. First-thus traps: the Barnes & Noble exclusive edition (ISBN 9781250846914) and the 2021 Netflix tie-in printings are later issues, not firsts; the UK "The Grisha: Shadow and Bone" (Indigo, ISBN 9781780622262) is a later retitled British reissue, not the 2012 UK first. Reprint tell: any number line not reaching 1.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Shadow and Bone a first edition?

A first edition of Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (Henry Holt and Co.) is identified by: US first printing: the copyright page carries the statement "First Edition — 2012" with a complete descending number line beneath it running down to 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1).

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). The census claim that the US Holt edition is the true first does NOT survive on strict chronological precedence and is corrected here.

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

No book-club edition is documented for this title. First-thus traps: the Barnes & Noble exclusive edition (ISBN 9781250846914) and the 2021 Netflix tie-in printings are later issues, not firsts; the UK "The Grisha: Shadow and Bone" (Indigo, ISBN 9781780622262) is a later retitled British reissue, not the 2012 UK first. Reprint tell: any number line not reaching 1.

I have a first edition of Shadow and Bone — 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.