Is My The Fifth Head of Cerberus a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing is identified by the Scribner's house code "A-4.72 [c]" on the copyright page, denoting edition A (first), April 1972
• The copyright page also carries "SBN 684-12830-6 (Trade cloth)"
• Binding is red paper over boards with gilt lettering to the spine; octavo
• The dust jacket design is by Nicholas Gaetano and the first-issue jacket is priced at the front flap
• Scribner's used this letter-plus-month.year system from 1930 until roughly 1973, when it was replaced by a descending number line — so on a 1972 Scribner's book the absence of the A-code, or the presence of a B or later letter, rules out the first printing

How Charles Scribner's Sons marked a first edition

• The famous capital 'A' on the copyright page denotes a first printing. Introduced late 1929 and used 1930-1973.

Full Charles Scribner's Sons 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?

The US Scribner's edition (New York, 1972) is the true first, confirming the census claim. The first UK edition followed from Victor Gollancz (London) in 1973, bound in publisher's red cloth with gilt spine lettering and issued in a priced jacket; it is collected as the first British edition but does not have precedence.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue of the Scribner's first is documented in the sources consulted; the reliable negative tell is simply the absence of "A-4.72 [c]". The main traps are later reprints and "first thus" issues rather than club copies: Quartet (UK paperback), Ace (1976 paperback), and the Orb/Tor trade paperback reissues, the last of which adds an introduction by Brian Evenson and is a different edition entirely.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Fifth Head of Cerberus a first edition?

A first edition of The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe (Charles Scribner's Sons) is identified by: The first printing is identified by the Scribner's house code "A-4.72 [c]" on the copyright page, denoting edition A (first), April 1972.

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). The US Scribner's edition (New York, 1972) is the true first, confirming the census claim.

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

No book-club issue of the Scribner's first is documented in the sources consulted; the reliable negative tell is simply the absence of "A-4.72 [c]". The main traps are later reprints and "first thus" issues rather than club copies: Quartet (UK paperback), Ace (1976 paperback), and the Orb/Tor trade paperback reissues, the last of which adds an introduction by Brian Evenson and is a different edition entirely.

I have a first edition of The Fifth Head of Cerberus — 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.