Is My The Complete Maus a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First single-volume collected edition, Pantheon Books 1996, combining both previously published Maus volumes
• A true first of this single-volume format carries the 'First Edition' statement and full number line on the copyright page

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. Read the indicia — a first-printing single issue carries no later-printing line; a collected edition is “first thus,” not the true first.
4. Verify this is the world true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

Format & printing

This title first appeared as a single issue / periodical, not a trade book. The true first is the first-printing single issue; later trade paperbacks or hardcover collections are “first thus.” Check the indicia (the small-print publication block) for a printing statement.

Is this the true first?

This is a first-thus single-volume omnibus (1996), not a true first of the content; Maus I (1986) and Maus II (1991) preceded it.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later printings show a reduced number line and lack the first-edition state.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Complete Maus a first edition?

A first edition of The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon Books) is identified by: First single-volume collected edition, Pantheon Books 1996, combining both previously published Maus volumes.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. For a single issue, the indicia shows the printing. This is a first-thus single-volume omnibus (1996), not a true first of the content; Maus I (1986) and Maus II (1991) preceded it.

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

Later printings show a reduced number line and lack the first-edition state.

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

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 lost. To sell, see the author’s collecting guide. Either way, nothing collectible ends up in a landfill.

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.