Is My The Female Man a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Bantam Books, New York — a mass-market paperback original, February 1975, Bantam catalogue number Q8765, ISBN 0-553-08765-7, cover art by Morgan Kane
• The first printing is identified by the Q8765 designation on the cover and spine and by the copyright-page printing history showing the Bantam edition published February 1975 with no later printing line beneath it
• Bantam states subsequent printings there, so the absence of any later printing statement is the point
• The number and ISBN corroborate each other — from 1969 Bantam tied the book number to the middle block of the ISBN, so Q8765 and the 08765 element of the ISBN agree, and the Q prefix is the correct 1975 series prefix for this title
• Original cover price present and unclipped
• Note that the ISBN 0-553-11175-2 which circulates in reference listings for this title does not correspond to the February 1975 first printing

How Bantam marked a first edition

• Bantam used a code on the copyright page indicating printing and date in some eras; in the modern era a descending number line ending in '1' marks the first printing.
• Mass-market originals: the paperback is the first edition; reprints of hardcovers are firsts-thus only.

Full Bantam 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 UK 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?

The paperback original is the true first, as the census states — written in 1970, published by Bantam in February 1975. The first hardcover is Gregg Press, Boston, in The Gregg Press Science Fiction Series (ISBN 0-8398-2351-7), with a new introduction; WorldCat and dealer records date it 1977, while one reference wiki gives June 1975 — the conflict is immaterial to precedence, since the Bantam of February 1975 leads on either dating, but the Gregg year should be given as 1977 with that caveat rather than asserted flatly. No UK edition preceded: the earliest UK issue documented in the sources consulted is The Women's Press, London, April 1985. Nebula nominee for 1975; one of three Retrospective Tiptree Award winners in 1996.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Gregg Press (1977) is a hardcover reprint of the Bantam text and is the standard trap for this title, since collectors assume a hardcover must lead — it does not, and it should never be catalogued as the first edition. Later Bantam printings are stated as such in the copyright-page printing history and carry different numbers and ISBNs from Q8765 / 0-553-08765-7. Bantam's numbering is a complicating factor for this exact year: the firm exhausted its available numbers in early 1975 and began reusing numbers from the 2000s range, moved to a five-digit system in 1976, and redesignated overlap-period books with a preceding zero — so verify against Q8765 and the February 1975 statement together rather than against the number alone.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Female Man a first edition?

A first edition of The Female Man by Joanna Russ (Bantam) is identified by: Bantam Books, New York — a mass-market paperback original, February 1975, Bantam catalogue number Q8765, ISBN 0-553-08765-7, cover art by Morgan Kane.

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. The paperback original is the true first, as the census states — written in 1970, published by Bantam in February 1975.

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

Gregg Press (1977) is a hardcover reprint of the Bantam text and is the standard trap for this title, since collectors assume a hardcover must lead — it does not, and it should never be catalogued as the first edition. Later Bantam printings are stated as such in the copyright-page printing history and carry different numbers and ISBNs from Q8765 / 0-553-08765-7. Bantam's numbering is a complicating factor for this exact year: the firm exhausted its available numbers in early 1975 and began reus

I have a first edition of The Female 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.