Is My The Charm School a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing is the Warner Books, New York, 1988 hardcover (ISBN 0-446-51305-9), octavo, 533 pp., whose copyright page states 'First Printing: April 1988' above a complete number line; the 1 must be present, since Warner retained the dated statement on later printings while stepping the line
• This matches documented Warner Books practice for the period, evidenced on DeMille's own Word of Honor (Warner, 1985), which states 'First Printing November 1985' above a full number line
• Binding is quarter cloth spine — dealers describe the spine cloth as blue, though at least one describes it as black, so the shade should be treated as unconfirmed — over red paper-covered boards, with the spine lettered in gilt
• The jacket is printed in red, blue, yellow and gold on a white ground; a first-issue jacket is unclipped with the price present at the front flap
• No first-state text error is documented for this title

How Warner Books marked a first edition

• Confirm with the number line (printer's key) on the copyright page. Warner used the standard American rule: the LOWEST digit present indicates the printing. A complete line containing a 1 (e.g. "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" or…

Full Warner Books 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 census claim is correct: the true first is Warner Books, New York, April 1988. The first UK edition is Grafton Books (London), 1988, issued after the Warner and collected as the first British edition only; a Guild Publishing (UK book club) issue also carries a 1988/1989 date and is not a first. Later Time Warner / Little, Brown UK and Grand Central reissues, and the G. K. Hall large-print, are reprints — descriptions of them as 'first thus' should be disregarded. Page counts differ between the Warner (533 pp.) and later UK settings (687 pp.), which is a useful sanity check against a UK reprint being offered as the first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Guild Publishing (London) is the documented UK book-club issue; US club issues (Literary Guild / Doubleday clubs) also circulate. Tells: no 'First Printing: April 1988' statement and no number line on the copyright page, a blind-stamped colophon (dot, square, circle or triangle) impressed into the rear board near the spine, no price at the jacket flap, no barcode on the jacket rear, smaller trim size and lower-bulk paper.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Charm School a first edition?

A first edition of The Charm School by Nelson DeMille (Warner Books) is identified by: The first printing is the Warner Books, New York, 1988 hardcover (ISBN 0-446-51305-9), octavo, 533 pp., whose copyright page states 'First Printing: April 1988' above a complete number line; the 1 must be present, since Warner retained the dated statement on later printings while stepping the line.

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 census claim is correct: the true first is Warner Books, New York, April 1988.

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

Guild Publishing (London) is the documented UK book-club issue; US club issues (Literary Guild / Doubleday clubs) also circulate. Tells: no 'First Printing: April 1988' statement and no number line on the copyright page, a blind-stamped colophon (dot, square, circle or triangle) impressed into the rear board near the spine, no price at the jacket flap, no barcode on the jacket rear, smaller trim size and lower-bulk paper.

I have a first edition of The Charm School — 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.