Is My The Feynman Lectures on Physics (3 vols.) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first printing: Addison-Wesley, red cloth (commemorative/hardcover sets) — the desirable first issues carry the early printing statements
• Volume I is 1963, Volume II 1964, Volume III 1965; a true first set has each volume in its respective first printing
• Early printings note the Caltech lecture origin; check each volume's copyright page individually

How Addison-Wesley marked a first edition

• 1942-c.1970: Founded 1942 (first title was Francis Weston Sears' 'Mechanics'); mathematics, physics, and computer-science textbooks and monographs. Early titles are identified by edition statement, with a first printing…
• c.1970-present: A number line on the copyright page is the standard printing indicator (lowest digit = printing). Addison-Wesley Professional computing classics are identified by edition number together with the number l…

Full Addison-Wesley 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?

True first is the Addison-Wesley US edition; sets must be assembled with each volume in first printing (commonly mismatched). The much later 'Definitive Edition' (2005) and 'New Millennium Edition' are corrected reprints, not firsts. Three-volume first-printing sets in the original slipcase/binding are scarce.P-026047

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue of note; the main pitfall is mixed-printing sets and confusing later corrected editions (Definitive/Millennium) with the 1963–65 firsts. Verify printing on each volume separately.P-026048

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Feynman Lectures on Physics (3 vols.) a first edition?

A first edition of The Feynman Lectures on Physics (3 vols.) by Richard P. Feynman, Robert B. Leighton, Matthew Sands (Addison-Wesley) is identified by: First edition, first printing: Addison-Wesley, red cloth (commemorative/hardcover sets) — the desirable first issues carry the early printing statements.

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. True first is the Addison-Wesley US edition; sets must be assembled with each volume in first printing (commonly mismatched).

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

No book-club issue of note; the main pitfall is mixed-printing sets and confusing later corrected editions (Definitive/Millennium) with the 1963–65 firsts. Verify printing on each volume separately.

I have a first edition of The Feynman Lectures on Physics (3 vols.) — 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.