The points of issue
True first appearance was the four-issue prestige-format illustrated mini-series from DC/Vertigo (issues released 1997 into 1998), with prose and Vess illustration throughout; this was then gathered as the illustrated single-volume hardcover 'Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess' Stardust: Being a Romance Within the Realm of Faerie' in 1998 (DC/Vertigo, with a trade paperback also issued).
Is this the true first?
The 1997-98 DC/Vertigo illustrated edition is the true first; the 1998 collected illustrated hardcover is the first single-volume book form. The 1999 Avon unillustrated prose novel is 'first thus' (first text-only edition), not the true first.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition is the issue; the trap is treating the common 1999 Avon prose novel as the first. The illustrated 1997-98 mini-series and the 1998 collected hardcover both precede it.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of Stardust a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: True first appearance was the four-issue prestige-format illustrated mini-series from DC/Vertigo (issues released 1997 into 1998), with prose and Vess illustration throughout; this was then gathered as the illustrated single-volume hardcover 'Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess' Stardust: Being a Romance Within the Realm of Faerie' in 1998 (DC/Vertigo, with a trade paperback also issued).
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. The 1997-98 DC/Vertigo illustrated edition is the true first; the 1998 collected illustrated hardcover is the first single-volume book form. The 1999 Avon unillustrated prose novel is 'first thus' (first text-only edition), not the true first.
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
No book-club edition is the issue; the trap is treating the common 1999 Avon prose novel as the first. The illustrated 1997-98 mini-series and the 1998 collected hardcover both precede it.
I have a first edition of Stardust — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.