Is My The Dragonbone Chair a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first is the DAW Books hardcover, New York, October 1988 (ISBN 0-8099-0003-3)
• The copyright page states "First Printing, October, 1988" and carries DAW's ascending number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 — the 1 must be present
• Bound in tan boards with a cloth spine
• Priced jacket: the price should be present and unclipped at the front flap, with the ISBN at the rear flap
• The DAW mass-market paperback (ISBN 0-88677-384-9, 1989) is a later issue, not the first; because DAW is far better known as a paperback house, the 1988 hardcover is frequently overlooked
• Confirmed against several independent dealer descriptions quoting the same printing statement and number line

How DAW Books marked a first edition

• PRIMARY tell is the DAW 'collector's number' (sequential book number), NOT a conventional number line — through June 1984 it sat inside the yellow logo box on the front cover/spine; from mid-1984 it was moved to the copy…
• First printings carry a 'First Printing, <Month Year>' statement on the copyright page; absence of any later-printing notation plus the first-printing date confirms a first

Full DAW 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 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?

Census claim confirmed. The US DAW hardcover (October 1988) is the world first. The first British edition followed from Legend (London) in 1989 (ISBN 0-7126-3427-4) and is collected separately as the first UK edition; a Legend paperback (0-09-970490-4) followed in 1990. Both the DAW and the Legend firsts are collected, with priority to the DAW.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A Science Fiction Book Club issue is recorded for February 1989 (club catalogue number 14507). Club copies are identified in the usual way — no price at the jacket flap, club blind stamp to the rear board, and a smaller trim and lighter boards than the DAW trade issue. The 2024 Hodderscape new edition and the Astra/DAW deluxe hardcover are later "first thus" printings.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Dragonbone Chair a first edition?

A first edition of The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams (DAW Books) is identified by: True first is the DAW Books hardcover, New York, October 1988 (ISBN 0-8099-0003-3).

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). Census claim confirmed.

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

A Science Fiction Book Club issue is recorded for February 1989 (club catalogue number 14507). Club copies are identified in the usual way — no price at the jacket flap, club blind stamp to the rear board, and a smaller trim and lighter boards than the DAW trade issue. The 2024 Hodderscape new edition and the Astra/DAW deluxe hardcover are later "first thus" printings.

I have a first edition of The Dragonbone Chair — 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.