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First-Edition Identification · Gilbert Sorrentino

Is My Steelwork a First Edition?

Pantheon Books, 1970

The points of issue

First edition, first printing stated; Pantheon, New York, with a priced dust jacket. Jacket art depicts the 68th Street and Fourth Avenue street signs in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

Decode the printer’s key: paste the number line into the decoder · Pantheon Books first-edition guide.

Is this the true first?

True first is the 1970 Pantheon edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

None notable.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Steelwork a first edition?

Look for these first-edition points: First edition, first printing stated; Pantheon, New York, with a priced dust jacket. Jacket art depicts the 68th Street and Fourth Avenue street signs in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

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. True first is the 1970 Pantheon edition.

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

None notable.

I have a first edition of Steelwork — 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.

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