Is My Copy of The Death of Jim Loney a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing carries the "FIRST EDITION" statement on the copyright page together with a complete number line ending in 1 — dealers describe first copies as "stated first edition with full number line." The number line governs, and this is the standing Harper trap: Harper & Row stated "First Edition" on the copyright page but frequently failed to strip that statement from later printings, so the statement alone does not prove a first
• Harper added a number row in 1969, initially at the foot of the last page before the rear free endpaper; by 1975 the row was usually moved to the copyright page, so on a 1979 book expect it on the copyright page (Quill & Brush
• Physical points: 179 pp., octavo (about 21.5 cm), quarter dark-blue cloth over blue paper-covered boards with gilt-stamped spine lettering; illustrated color pictorial jacket with the price present at the front flap on unclipped copies
• An uncorrected proof in green printed wrappers is recorded and is uncommon
• No first-state text errors are documented

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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?

US-only true first: Harper & Row, New York, 1979 (ISBN 0-06-014588-9) — Welch's third book and second novel. No 1979 British edition was traced; the UK issue is the Penguin paperback (ISBN 0140102918, circa 1987) and is a reprint. The Harper Colophon/Perennial paperback (ISBN 0-06-080538-2) and the Penguin Classics edition (2008, with an introduction by Jim Harrison) are "first thus" reprints. Only the 1979 Harper & Row hardcover is the first.P-043495

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for this title in the sources consulted. If a copy turns up without a price at the jacket flap, with a blind stamp or deboss at the lower rear board, or on smaller trim, treat it as a club copy regardless of any "First Edition" statement — the Harper practice of leaving the statement in place makes the number line and the physical tells the only reliable evidence.P-043496

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Death of Jim Loney a first edition?

A first edition of The Death of Jim Loney by James Welch (Harper & Row) is identified by: The first printing carries the "FIRST EDITION" statement on the copyright page together with a complete number line ending in 1 — dealers describe first copies as "stated first edition with full number line." The number line governs, and this is the standing Harper trap: Harper & Row stated "First Edition" on the copyright page but frequently failed to strip that statement from later printings, so the statement alone does not prove a first.

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). US-only true first: Harper & Row, New York, 1979 (ISBN 0-06-014588-9) — Welch's third book and second novel.

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

No book-club issue is documented for this title in the sources consulted. If a copy turns up without a price at the jacket flap, with a blind stamp or deboss at the lower rear board, or on smaller trim, treat it as a club copy regardless of any "First Edition" statement — the Harper practice of leaving the statement in place makes the number line and the physical tells the only reliable evidence.

I have a first edition of The Death of Jim Loney — 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.