Is My The Color of Magic a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First American issue: St
• Martin's Press, New York, 1983
• The 1983 US hardcover retained the British title spelling 'The Colour of Magic' on the title page — the American 'Color' spelling appears only on later US printings and paperbacks
• Martin's printed the sheets and jackets for BOTH issues (4,540 copies total); after about 506 went to Colin Smythe for the UK issue, the balance formed the larger US issue
• Jacket art is by Alan Smith (NOT Josh Kirby)
• The US issue is distinguished from the scarcer UK Smythe issue by the printed US price on the dust-jacket front flap (the UK issue carries no printed price, only a Smythe sticker)

How Colin Smythe marked a first edition

• No printer's number line on the Colin Smythe hardbacks. On its 1970s-80s first editions (The Carpet People 1971, Strata 1981, The Colour of Magic 1983, The Light Fantastic 1986) Smythe relied on a stated 'First published…
• A true first impression shows the 'First published in [year]...' statement and carries NO 'Reprinted 19XX' line. The presence of a 'Reprinted 19..' line on the copyright page marks a later impression; a first has none. (…

Full Colin Smythe 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 UK Colin Smythe hardcover (about 506 copies) is the collectors' true first and the publisher of record for Discworld; see the-colour-of-magic. By date the US St. Martin's issue actually appeared slightly earlier (cited ~21 October 1983) than the delayed Smythe issue (24 November 1983), but the far scarcer Smythe issue is the one collectors prize. Both issues are the same 1983 setting of type, printed by St. Martin's; this American-spelling page covers the larger US issue.P-037343

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A US book-club edition (BCE) exists and is common; distinguish it by the ABSENCE of a printed price on the jacket flap (the true US first issue shows the printed price) and by the usual book-club tells (blind stamp to the rear board, cheaper boards). The 1985 Corgi paperback (Josh Kirby art) and a later Colin Smythe / Discworld.com facsimile are separate and later.P-037344

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Color of Magic a first edition?

A first edition of The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett (Colin Smythe) is identified by: First American issue: St.

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 UK Colin Smythe hardcover (about 506 copies) is the collectors' true first and the publisher of record for Discworld; see the-colour-of-magic.

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

A US book-club edition (BCE) exists and is common; distinguish it by the ABSENCE of a printed price on the jacket flap (the true US first issue shows the printed price) and by the usual book-club tells (blind stamp to the rear board, cheaper boards). The 1985 Corgi paperback (Josh Kirby art) and a later Colin Smythe / Discworld.com facsimile are separate and later.

I have a first edition of The Color of Magic — 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.