Is My The Auctioneer a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing carries Simon & Schuster's full number line running down to 1 on the copyright page; later printings strip the 1, and there is no "First Edition" statement to fall back on
• The jacket art is by Wendell Minor, and the jacket should be priced with the price present at the flap
• Dealers report the cloth inconsistently — grey in some descriptions, brown with white spine lettering in others — so binding colour is NOT a safe point on this title and should not be used to reject a copy on its own
• Collation is likewise reported inconsistently across the sources consulted and was not confirmed

How Simon and Schuster, New York marked a first edition

• ERA 3 — Number-line introduction (mid-1973–1980): S&S adopted a copyright-page number line. Read the lowest number present: a line whose lowest digit is 1 is a first printing (e.g. '1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10' or the descendin…
• CROSS-CHECK across all number-line eras: A 1-bearing number line is frequently paired with a spelled-out first-issue statement (which may read 'First Printing' OR 'First Edition' — both occur at S&S). When a positive sta…

Full Simon and Schuster, New York 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 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 Simon and Schuster (New York) is the true first, and the census's 1975 date is correct against the evidence of the book itself: LCCN 75023337, with the Internet Archive's record of a physical copy and Open Library both giving Simon and Schuster, New York, 1975. Note a live cataloguing discrepancy that will confuse buyers: Wikipedia and some trade records date the book to January 1976, which appears to reflect the on-sale date rather than the copyright/publication year. The London edition from Hodder & Stoughton (ISBN 0-340-22313-3) followed in 1976 and does not precede. This was Samson's only novel.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A book-club printing circulates; no title-specific tell is documented in the sources consulted, so the standard tests apply — blind stamp or impressed shape in the rear board, unpriced jacket, absence of the number line, and lighter bulk. Separately, the 1977 Avon paperback, the Millipede Press (2007) and Valancourt (2018/2020) revivals are "first thus" reprints, not firsts; the Suntup Editions numbered and lettered issues (2020–21) are modern fine-press printings and are not first editions of the text despite their elaborate presentation.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Auctioneer a first edition?

A first edition of The Auctioneer by Joan Samson (Simon and Schuster, New York) is identified by: The first printing carries Simon & Schuster's full number line running down to 1 on the copyright page; later printings strip the 1, and there is no "First Edition" statement to fall back on.

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 Simon and Schuster (New York) is the true first, and the census's 1975 date is correct against the evidence of the book itself: LCCN 75023337, with the Internet Archive's record of a physical copy and Open Library both giving Simon and Schuster, New York, 1975.

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

A book-club printing circulates; no title-specific tell is documented in the sources consulted, so the standard tests apply — blind stamp or impressed shape in the rear board, unpriced jacket, absence of the number line, and lighter bulk. Separately, the 1977 Avon paperback, the Millipede Press (2007) and Valancourt (2018/2020) revivals are "first thus" reprints, not firsts; the Suntup Editions numbered and lettered issues (2020–21) are modern fine-press printings and are not first editions of t

I have a first edition of The Auctioneer — 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.