Is My Stranglehold (Only Child) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first is the UK Headline hardcover, London 1995, under Ketchum's original title Only Child (ISBN 0747211671)
• The US first is the Berkley paperback original Stranglehold, September 1995 (ISBN 0425149463)
• No Dutton hardcover exists

How Headline marked a first edition

• Find the dated 'First published' statement on the copyright (imprint) page. As a modern British trade house (founded 1986), a Headline first edition carries a line such as 'First published in Great Britain in [year] by H…
• Check the descending number line (printer's key) on the copyright page. Verified Headline firsts (e.g. Neil Gaiman, 'Stardust', Headline 1999) show a complete line ending in 1 — '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1'. The lowest digit p…

Full Headline first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
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 Headline hardcover Only Child (1995) precedes the US Berkley paperback Stranglehold (September 1995); Berkley retitled the book for the US market. Later US reissues restored the title Only Child.P-013056

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book club edition reported; the US first is a paperback original, so any US hardcover is a later limited reissue.P-013057

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Stranglehold (Only Child) a first edition?

A first edition of Stranglehold (Only Child) by Jack Ketchum (Headline) is identified by: True first is the UK Headline hardcover, London 1995, under Ketchum's original title Only Child (ISBN 0747211671).

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. UK Headline hardcover Only Child (1995) precedes the US Berkley paperback Stranglehold (September 1995); Berkley retitled the book for the US market.

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

No book club edition reported; the US first is a paperback original, so any US hardcover is a later limited reissue.

I have a first edition of Stranglehold (Only Child) — 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.