Is My Copy of So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing has the number line "9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page together with the statement "First published in Great Britain 1984" — the operative test; a copy lacking the terminal 1 is a later impression
• Black boards
• The distinguishing jacket point: the dust jacket, designed by Gary Day-Ellison, carries an original plastic lenticular hologram mounted on the front panel as issued (it reads as a dinosaur or as a walrus depending on the viewing angle) — jackets missing the hologram are defective, not variants
• Price present at the flap on unclipped copies

How Pan Books marked a first edition

• First printings carry a number line, typically descending ending in 1 (1 present = first); lowest digit indicates printing
• Copyright page shows the original year with no later-edition or reprint statement

Full Pan Books 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 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?

UK original: Pan Books, London and Sydney, published 9 November 1984; Pan is the true first. This is not merely "the first UK hardcover in the series" — Arthur Barker had already issued UK hardcovers of the earlier titles; what is distinctive is that this is the first Hitchhiker's book Pan issued FIRST in hardcover under its own imprint, rather than as a Pan paperback original with a hardback following. The first American edition is Harmony Books, New York, with "First Edition" and the full number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page; it is collected separately and follows Pan. Dealer and library records split on its year — LCCN 84019350 and copyright-page dating point to 1984, while the LC classification and many dealer catalogues give 1985 — so "US Harmony 1985" is defensible but not settled.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A US book-club edition of the Harmony text exists and is the common trap: no price at the jacket flap, a blind-stamped device at the rear board, lighter bulk, cheaper paper. The Pan paperback (1985) and the Pocket Books mass-market paperbacks (1985 onward) are reprints, not firsts. Later Pan hardcover impressions are identified by the shortened number line on the copyright page.P-042161

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish a first edition?

A first edition of So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams (Pan Books) is identified by: First printing has the number line "9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page together with the statement "First published in Great Britain 1984" — the operative test; a copy lacking the terminal 1 is a later impression.

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 original: Pan Books, London and Sydney, published 9 November 1984; Pan is the true first.

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

A US book-club edition of the Harmony text exists and is the common trap: no price at the jacket flap, a blind-stamped device at the rear board, lighter bulk, cheaper paper. The Pan paperback (1985) and the Pocket Books mass-market paperbacks (1985 onward) are reprints, not firsts. Later Pan hardcover impressions are identified by the shortened number line on the copyright page.

I have a first edition of So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish — 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.