Is My The Blade Itself a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first is the Gollancz hardcover, London, published 4 May 2006
• The first printing carries the Gollancz number line "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" on the copyright page; the 1 must be present
• The author's first book and the first volume of the First Law trilogy; jacket design by Laura Brett
• Priced jacket: price present at the flap
• Format trap: Gollancz issued the title in 2006 in both hardcover and trade paperback, and the library record for the 2006 Gollancz printing carries both ISBNs together (0-575-07785-9 and 0-575-07786-7)
• Dealers assign these two ISBNs to the two formats inconsistently and contradict one another, so format must be judged from the physical book rather than from the ISBN in a listing

How Gollancz marked a first edition

• Classic British-house method: 'First published <year>' on the copyright/verso with NO later-printing or 'reprinted' statements; an unbroken impression line or absence of added impression dates confirms a first
• The distinctive plain YELLOW dust jacket with black + magenta typography (no pictorial art) is a strong era marker for firsts roughly 1920s–mid-1980s

Full Gollancz 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?

Census claim confirmed. The Gollancz UK 2006 edition precedes the first American edition from Pyr (Amherst, New York), September 2007 — which the Library of Congress catalogues as "the printed pricet American pbk. ed." (ISBN 1-59102-594-X), so the US first is a trade paperback, not a hardcover, and is a decidedly secondary collecting target. Independent confirmation of UK precedence: the title verso of the 2015 Orbit US edition states "First published in Great Britain in 2006 by Gollancz."

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented. "First thus" traps, and they are serious here: the Subterranean Press signed limited (2010, 500 numbered copies), the Gollancz Tenth Anniversary hardcover (2016, ISBN 9781473216785), and the 2022 Victor Gollancz signed reissue — a dealer describes that 2022 reissue as "the printed pricet Edition" with "numbers 1-10 present to confirm the first edition state," which demonstrates that a full number line by itself does not make a copy a 2006 first. Check the imprint date, not just the line.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Blade Itself a first edition?

A first edition of The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie (Gollancz) is identified by: True first is the Gollancz hardcover, London, published 4 May 2006.

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). Census claim confirmed.

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

No book-club issue is documented. "First thus" traps, and they are serious here: the Subterranean Press signed limited (2010, 500 numbered copies), the Gollancz Tenth Anniversary hardcover (2016, ISBN 9781473216785), and the 2022 Victor Gollancz signed reissue — a dealer describes that 2022 reissue as "the printed pricet Edition" with "numbers 1-10 present to confirm the first edition state," which demonstrates that a full number line by itself does not make a copy a 2006 first. Check the imprin

I have a first edition of The Blade Itself — 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.