Is My The Demolished Man a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Blue quarter-cloth spine lettered in gilt over dark red paper-covered boards lettered in white, with black topstain; copyright page states 'First Edition'
• 250 pp; priced dust jacket with art by Martin Herbstman; printed by H. Wolff
• No statement of a later printing

How Shasta Publishers marked a first edition

• Shasta first editions are identified by an explicit 'First Edition' statement printed on the copyright page (a positive notation), NOT by the absence of later-printing language. Standard reference: the copyright page rea…
• Confirm physical issue points where documented per title (e.g., boards with cloth shelf back on the Heinlein titles) and a correct-state first-issue dust jacket with the original printed price; jacket art alone is not a…

Full Shasta Publishers 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. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
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 Shasta 1953 is the true first book edition (the text first appeared serialized in Galaxy, Jan-Mar 1952). A small group of subscriber copies were signed by Bester on the front free endpaper. The UK Sidgwick & Jackson edition (1953) is later.P-001038

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Watch for the Shasta second printing, whose copyright page reads 'Second Edition' (still the original publisher, but not the first printing) and lacks the 'First Edition' statement. Later Signet/Berkley paperbacks and any club reprint are not the first.P-001039

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Demolished Man a first edition?

A first edition of The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (Shasta Publishers) is identified by: Blue quarter-cloth spine lettered in gilt over dark red paper-covered boards lettered in white, with black topstain; copyright page states 'First Edition'; 250 pp; priced dust jacket with art by Martin Herbstman; printed by H.

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

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. US Shasta 1953 is the true first book edition (the text first appeared serialized in Galaxy, Jan-Mar 1952).

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

Watch for the Shasta second printing, whose copyright page reads 'Second Edition' (still the original publisher, but not the first printing) and lacks the 'First Edition' statement. Later Signet/Berkley paperbacks and any club reprint are not the first.

I have a first edition of The Demolished Man — 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.