Is My The Dragon in the Sea a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing is 'First Edition' so stated on the copyright page — Doubleday's practice for the period, and the single decisive point
• Bound in black cloth lettered in lime green to the spine
• 8vo, 192 pp
• Dust jacket art by Mel Hunter; a first-state jacket is unclipped with the price present at the flap
• This is Herbert's first book and his first science-fiction novel, so early copies were printed in modest numbers and the jacket is the scarce element

How Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York marked a first edition

• 1897–c.1920s (Doubleday & McClure / Doubleday, Page): first editions have the SAME date on title page and copyright page with no other printings mentioned.
• Early 1920s–1927: began stating 'First Edition' on the copyright page (not always on books first published outside the US); by 1927 (Doubleday, Doran) used 'First Edition' consistently.

Full Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York 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 original. Doubleday (Garden City, 1956) is the true first in book form. The text first appeared serially as 'Under Pressure' in Astounding (November 1955 - January 1956) and was reworked for the book — a magazine appearance, not a competing first edition. The first UK edition is Victor Gollancz, London, 1960 (crown 8vo, 206 pp., original red cloth lettered in black at the spine, priced jacket); it is separately collected as the British first but does not precede Doubleday. The retitlings are reprints, not firsts: Avon's paperback the printed pricet Century Sub and Ballantine's Under Pressure (1974, 'First Printing: March, 1974' on the copyright page) both reissue this text.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Doubleday issued the title through its book-club channel and club copies of the 1956 book are catalogued by dealers. Club copies do not carry the 'First Edition' statement on the copyright page — that absence is the primary tell. Doubleday-era club jackets typically state 'Book Club Edition' at the lower front flap and carry no price at the flap, and club copies use lighter boards and bulked paper. Beware also the Nelson Doubleday/Science Fiction Book Club imprint, which is distinct from Doubleday & Company, Inc.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Dragon in the Sea a first edition?

A first edition of The Dragon in the Sea by Frank Herbert (Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York) is identified by: The first printing is 'First Edition' so stated on the copyright page — Doubleday's practice for the period, and the single decisive point.

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 original.

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

Doubleday issued the title through its book-club channel and club copies of the 1956 book are catalogued by dealers. Club copies do not carry the 'First Edition' statement on the copyright page — that absence is the primary tell. Doubleday-era club jackets typically state 'Book Club Edition' at the lower front flap and carry no price at the flap, and club copies use lighter boards and bulked paper. Beware also the Nelson Doubleday/Science Fiction Book Club imprint, which is distinct from Doubled

I have a first edition of The Dragon in the Sea — 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.