Is My Copy of The Cobweb a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Trade paperback original in pictorial wrappers under the pseudonym Stephen Bury, Bantam, September 1996, 384 pages
• First printing states First Edition on the copyright page and carries the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
• Pictorial wrappers printed in red, white, and black, with the printed price on the rear wrapper (that price should be present and unaltered); the text includes a full-page black-and-white map

How Bantam marked a first edition

• Copyright page printing statement: classic Bantam used a printed-line phrase such as 'Bantam edition / (date)' with a printing history; a true first lists only the first printing.
• Modern Bantam (post-merger) uses a descending number line; first printing retains '1' (e.g. '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1').

Full Bantam 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 Bantam trade paperback original (September 1996) is the true first, published under the Stephen Bury pseudonym (Neal Stephenson and his uncle J. Frederick George); there is no earlier hardcover.P-029350

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book club edition. Later reissues crediting the real names, or lacking the First Edition statement and the complete 10-through-1 number line, are not the first.P-029351

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Cobweb a first edition?

A first edition of The Cobweb by Stephen Bury (Neal Stephenson and J. Frederick George) (Bantam) is identified by: Trade paperback original in pictorial wrappers under the pseudonym Stephen Bury, Bantam, September 1996, 384 pages.

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 Bantam trade paperback original (September 1996) is the true first, published under the Stephen Bury pseudonym (Neal Stephenson and his uncle J. Frederick George); there is no earlier hardcover.

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

No book club edition. Later reissues crediting the real names, or lacking the First Edition statement and the complete 10-through-1 number line, are not the first.

I have a first edition of The Cobweb — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.