Is My Sweet Tooth a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first impression published by Jonathan Cape, London, 2012 (ISBN 9780224097376)
• Bound in boards with gilt spine lettering, issued in the pictorial dust jacket; the jacket should retain its printed cover price and be unclipped for a true first-issue example
• The first impression is identified by a complete descending number line on the copyright page ending in 1, with no impression statement

How Jonathan Cape marked a first edition

• First printings state "First published [Year]" or "First published in Great Britain [Year]" on the copyright page with NO additional impression lines and traditionally NO number line
• Later printings noted by added lines (e.g. 'Second impression [year]', 'Reprinted...') — their presence disqualifies a first

Full Jonathan Cape 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?

The UK Jonathan Cape edition (2012) is the true first, preceding the US Nan A. Talese/Doubleday edition (also 2012). Note the separately published London Review Bookshop signed limited edition of 100 copies (75 quarter-bound in leather numbered 1-75, 25 fully leather-bound numbered i-xxv), issued in association with Cape, which is a distinct limited issue rather than the trade first.P-011814

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later impressions state the impression number or carry a number line no longer ending in 1; there is no significant book-club issue affecting identification.P-011815

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Sweet Tooth a first edition?

A first edition of Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape) is identified by: First edition, first impression published by Jonathan Cape, London, 2012 (ISBN 9780224097376).

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). The UK Jonathan Cape edition (2012) is the true first, preceding the US Nan A.

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

Later impressions state the impression number or carry a number line no longer ending in 1; there is no significant book-club issue affecting identification.

I have a first edition of Sweet Tooth — 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.