Is My Copy of The Ancient Child a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The point is the words "First Edition" stated on the copyright page beneath the copyright notice — Doubleday's documented practice across 1927–2000 — and dealers describe trade first printings of this title as "first edition stated." For Doubleday in this period the stated line, not a number line, is the operative point; later printings drop the statement
• The book is issued in quarter cloth over boards with a pictorial dust jacket, priced at the flap with a Canadian price beneath it; dealer descriptions of the spine cloth vary (tan with black-and-white lettering, brown with copper lettering), so the binding shade is not a dependable point
• Collation is 314 pages, ISBN 0-385-27972-8
• No first-state text errors are documented in the sources consulted

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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 US 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?

US Doubleday (New York), 1989 is the true first and is the only hardcover first — no UK hardcover edition of the same date was located in the sources consulted, so this is genuinely a US-only first. The Harper Perennial paperback of 1990 (ISBN 0-06-097345-5) is a first-thus reissue with no precedence and is the most common trap, since it is the edition most often shelved and cited. Momaday wrote in English, so no original-language precedence question arises. This is Momaday's second novel, after the Pulitzer-winning House Made of Dawn.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted; the dealer listings examined all describe trade copies. If a Doubleday club printing exists, the period tells would apply: an unpriced jacket, a five-digit code in a white block on the rear jacket panel, absent bar code, thinner bulk and cheaper binding, and a blind stamp at the lower rear board — and note that a Doubleday club copy can still show "First Edition" on the copyright page, so the stated line must always be checked against the jacket and binding.P-043523

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Ancient Child a first edition?

A first edition of The Ancient Child by N. Scott Momaday (Doubleday) is identified by: The point is the words "First Edition" stated on the copyright page beneath the copyright notice — Doubleday's documented practice across 1927–2000 — and dealers describe trade first printings of this title as "first edition stated." For Doubleday in this period the stated line, not a number line, is the operative point; later printings drop the statement.

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). US Doubleday (New York), 1989 is the true first and is the only hardcover first — no UK hardcover edition of the same date was located in the sources consulted, so this is genuinely a US-only first.

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

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted; the dealer listings examined all describe trade copies.

I have a first edition of The Ancient 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. 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.