Is My The Claw of the Conciliator a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Timescape Books hardcover (a Simon & Schuster imprint); first printing carries a full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page and a priced, unclipped dust jacket
• Second volume of The Book of the New Sun

How Timescape / Simon & Schuster 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…
• ERA 4 — The signature non-sequential line (1981–present): S&S's hallmark line is the scrambled sequence '1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2'. The rule is presence-of-lowest-number, NOT last-digit: if 1 is present (as the lowest number…

Full Timescape / Simon & Schuster 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?

The US Timescape/Simon & Schuster 1981 hardcover is the true first; the UK Sidgwick & Jackson edition is separate. The signed/limited editions of the New Sun volumes are distinct collectible states. Won the 1981 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1982 Locus Award.P-009830

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Science Fiction Book Club edition has no price on the jacket, a blind-stamp on the rear board, lacks the trade number line, and uses thinner boards.P-009831

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Claw of the Conciliator a first edition?

A first edition of The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe (Timescape / Simon & Schuster) is identified by: Timescape Books hardcover (a Simon & Schuster imprint); first printing carries a full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page and a priced, unclipped dust jacket.

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 US Timescape/Simon & Schuster 1981 hardcover is the true first; the UK Sidgwick & Jackson edition is separate.

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

Science Fiction Book Club edition has no price on the jacket, a blind-stamp on the rear board, lacks the trade number line, and uses thinner boards.

I have a first edition of The Claw of the Conciliator — 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.