Is My The Chocolate War a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Census claim confirmed: Pantheon Books, New York, 1974 is the true first
• Library of Congress (LCCN 73-15109) records Pantheon Books, [New York], [1974], 253 pages, 22 cm, ISBN 0-394-82805-4 — the pagination and ISBN are the baseline check, and dealer listings consistently show 253 pages
• Pantheon has stated "First Edition" on the copyright page since 1964 (Quill & Brush) — one guide narrows this to "First Edition" from 1971 on, with "First Printing" or "First American Edition" used 1965–1971 — so a first printing carries the "First Edition" statement with no later-printing notice; by 1974 Pantheon was a Random House imprint following the same house practice as Random House and Knopf
• Binding is publisher's cloth-backed boards (quarter cloth over paper-covered boards) with stamped spine lettering, in a pictorial dust jacket; the jacket should be priced at the front flap
• Do not rely on binding colour as a point: ABAA and trade dealer descriptions conflict, variously reporting brown cloth with gilt spine lettering and quarter brown cloth over light blue blind-stamped boards with silver spine lettering

How Pantheon Books marked a first edition

• A true first has both the 'First Edition' statement and the 1 present; reprints drop 'First Edition' and/or the 1.
• Earlier Pantheon (pre-RH, founded 1942): identification by absence of additional printings and by stated 'First Edition' / 'First Printing' where present.

Full Pantheon 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. 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 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: Pantheon Books, New York, 1974 — the true first, published after rejection by several houses. UK: Victor Gollancz, London, 1975 — the first British edition, a year later; dealers describe it as octavo, original brown boards gilt, 254 pages, in a beige pictorial dustwrapper priced at the flap. Both are collected, but precedence is unambiguously American; the Gollancz is a first British edition, not a first edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue of the Pantheon hardcover was documented in the sources consulted. The recurring traps are format traps rather than club traps: the publisher's library binding (Random House used a 0-394-9xxxxx ISBN for library issues against the 0-394-82805-4 trade ISBN), the 1986 Laurel-Leaf and 2004 Ember paperbacks, and later Knopf/Random House hardcover reissues that retain the 1974 copyright and are routinely mis-listed by dealers as first editions. A jacket without a price at the flap is normally a clipped trade jacket here, not a club tell.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Chocolate War a first edition?

A first edition of The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (Pantheon Books) is identified by: Census claim confirmed: Pantheon Books, New York, 1974 is the true first.

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. US: Pantheon Books, New York, 1974 — the true first, published after rejection by several houses.

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

No book-club issue of the Pantheon hardcover was documented in the sources consulted. The recurring traps are format traps rather than club traps: the publisher's library binding (Random House used a 0-394-9xxxxx ISBN for library issues against the 0-394-82805-4 trade ISBN), the 1986 Laurel-Leaf and 2004 Ember paperbacks, and later Knopf/Random House hardcover reissues that retain the 1974 copyright and are routinely mis-listed by dealers as first editions. A jacket without a price at the flap i

I have a first edition of The Chocolate War — 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.