Is My Ship of Magic (The Liveship Traders 1) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• UK Voyager hardcover, March 1998, with John Howe jacket art and number line ending in 1
• US Bantam Spectra hardcover published 2 March 1998 with Stephen Youll jacket art
• Publication was essentially simultaneous

How Voyager / HarperCollins marked a first edition

• 1919-1921 (Harcourt, Brace & Howe): number '1' on copyright page = first printing, '2' = second, etc.
• 1921-1931: no statement on first printings; the first-edition notice (when later adopted) was simply absent, so rely on no later-printing notice.

Full Voyager / 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. 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.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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?

UK and US hardcovers appeared essentially simultaneously in March 1998. Collectors generally treat the UK Voyager hardcover as the preferred true first, but the US Bantam Spectra hardcover is a legitimate first edition of the US issue.P-028116

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book club hardcover editions exist; they lack a jacket price and printing line and are not first editions.P-028117

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Ship of Magic (The Liveship Traders 1) a first edition?

A first edition of Ship of Magic (The Liveship Traders 1) by Robin Hobb (Voyager / HarperCollins) is identified by: UK Voyager hardcover, March 1998, with John Howe jacket art and number line ending in 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). UK and US hardcovers appeared essentially simultaneously in March 1998.

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

Book club hardcover editions exist; they lack a jacket price and printing line and are not first editions.

I have a first edition of Ship of Magic (The Liveship Traders 1) — 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.