Is My The Elementals a First Edition?

The points of issue

• A mass-market paperback original — there is no first hardcover, and the fragile Avon wrappers of September 1981 are the first and only original state
• ISBN 0-380-78360-6
• 302 pp. per the Open Library record; the Library of Congress Copyright Paperback Collection deposit copy (digitised by the Internet Archive) is dated 1981, Avon Books, New York
• Because it is a paperback original there is no dust jacket and no jacket point
• Identification of the first printing is by the copyright page: Avon's practice from the late 1970s onward was a 'First Avon Printing, [Month], [Year]' line together with a number line, so a first printing should read 'First Avon Printing, September, 1981' with 1 present as the lowest digit in the line, and a later printing carries a subsequent printing statement
• CAVEAT — verify this on the copy in hand: Avon copyright pages are notoriously sparse, Avon has no entry in the standard publisher-identification guides (Quill & Brush, ILAB), and the exact wording was not confirmed against a photographed copyright page of this specific title

How Avon Books, New York marked a first edition

• Number line where present: lowest number 1 indicates first printing.

Full Avon Books, 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. 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 precedence, uncontested: an American author writing for an American mass-market house, with no UK edition and no hardcover preceding the Avon paperback original of September 1981. 'First thus' traps: the Valancourt Books trade paperback of 2014 (with a new introduction by Michael Rowe) and the Centipede Press limited hardcover of 2020 are the first hardcover and first modern trade appearances respectively — both are reprints. The Fontana/Collins paperback (ISBN 0-00-616640-7) and the 1995 HarperCollins edition are later reprints, not the first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented for this title — mass-market paperback originals of this kind were not book-club vehicles. The states to watch are later Avon printings, which are distinguished by their copyright-page printing statement, and the modern revivals (Valancourt 2014 trade paperback, Centipede Press 2020 hardcover), which are 'first thus' and are the copies most often mistaken for a first by sellers because they are the only hardcover.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Elementals a first edition?

A first edition of The Elementals by Michael McDowell (Avon Books, New York) is identified by: A mass-market paperback original — there is no first hardcover, and the fragile Avon wrappers of September 1981 are the first and only original state.

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 precedence, uncontested: an American author writing for an American mass-market house, with no UK edition and no hardcover preceding the Avon paperback original of September 1981.

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

No book-club edition is documented for this title — mass-market paperback originals of this kind were not book-club vehicles. The states to watch are later Avon printings, which are distinguished by their copyright-page printing statement, and the modern revivals (Valancourt 2014 trade paperback, Centipede Press 2020 hardcover), which are 'first thus' and are the copies most often mistaken for a first by sellers because they are the only hardcover.

I have a first edition of The Elementals — 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.