Is My The Bone People a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first is the 1984 Spiral collective edition (New Zealand), a small-press printing of about 2,000 copies issued in soft covers, published February 1984 and sold out within weeks
• First impression has the author's name in a white band to the front wrap and no errata leaf to the verso of the contents
• The 1985 UK Hodder & Stoughton (with Spiral) hardcover follows

How Spiral / Hodder & Stoughton marked a first edition

• Modern era (number line): later Hodder/Sceptre titles carry a printer's-key number line (lowest digit = printing; '1' present = first); number lines are a general post-~1970 trade practice — the exact year Hodder adopted…
• First printing = era-appropriate statement present AND no later-impression/printing notation; for pre-1940s books rely on points/bibliography, not the copyright page

Full Spiral / Hodder & Stoughton 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. 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.
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?

True first is the 1984 New Zealand Spiral paperback; the 1985 UK Hodder & Stoughton (with Spiral) hardcover is a later issue. The first New Zealand novel and first debut to win the Booker Prize (1985). The small Spiral first is a major rarity, scarce in fine condition.P-018061

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition. The common UK Hodder hardcover is not the true first; the 1984 Spiral New Zealand paperback is. Verify the Spiral imprint, the 1984 date, the white band carrying the author's name on the front wrap, and absence of an errata leaf.P-018062

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Bone People a first edition?

A first edition of The Bone People by Keri Hulme (Spiral / Hodder & Stoughton) is identified by: True first is the 1984 Spiral collective edition (New Zealand), a small-press printing of about 2,000 copies issued in soft covers, published February 1984 and sold out within weeks.

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. True first is the 1984 New Zealand Spiral paperback; the 1985 UK Hodder & Stoughton (with Spiral) hardcover is a later issue.

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

No book-club edition. The common UK Hodder hardcover is not the true first; the 1984 Spiral New Zealand paperback is. Verify the Spiral imprint, the 1984 date, the white band carrying the author's name on the front wrap, and absence of an errata leaf.

I have a first edition of The Bone People — 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.