Is My The Flood a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Polygon issued the first edition in two simultaneous states, and both are the first edition, first impression: a hardback in publisher's red boards with a dust jacket illustrated by Kerry Kirkwood, and a paperback in printed wrappers issued with no jacket
• The hardback is the scarcer and collector-preferred issue and is described by dealers as elusive; the wrappered issue is explicitly catalogued as "first paperback edition, first impression, issued simultaneously with the hardback." There is no number line and no printing statement to check on this title — identification rests entirely on the Polygon / Edinburgh / 1986 imprint plus the correct issue state and, for the hardback, the Kirkwood jacket
• The print run is commonly reported as only a few hundred copies; that figure traces to Wikipedia and is not confirmed against a publisher record, so treat it as unverified
• Signed copies often carry one of Rankin's signing motifs (noughts-and-crosses, a hangman's gibbet, or a smiley-face doodle); a motif is a signing habit, not an issue point, and does not establish priority

How Polygon marked a first edition

• Copyright page reads 'First published in [year] by Birlinn Ltd' (West Newington House, 10 Newington Road, Edinburgh) with a descending number line; a first printing has the digit 1 present.

Full Polygon 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 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?

UK Polygon (Edinburgh, 1986) is the true first and the only 1986 edition — Rankin's genuinely rare pre-Rebus debut — and the census claim is confirmed. There is no US first of this date and no original-language issue other than the Scottish one, so no UK-vs-US precedence question arises. The dominant trap is the 2005 Orion (London) hardback reissue, which is a first-thus and is regularly mis-listed as a first: it carries a new introduction by Rankin, is bound in black cloth lettered in silver with a price in sterling at the front flap, and has different pagination from the Polygon issue. An uncorrected proof of that 2005 Orion reissue also circulates and is likewise not a first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition of the 1986 Polygon issue is documented in the sources consulted. The reprint tells that matter on this title are the later trade reissues, not a club: chiefly the 2005 Orion hardback (new introduction, black cloth, silver spine lettering, different pagination) and the Orion/Time Warner paperbacks that follow it. Any copy lacking the Polygon Edinburgh 1986 imprint is not the first, whatever the binding.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Flood a first edition?

A first edition of The Flood by Ian Rankin (Polygon) is identified by: Polygon issued the first edition in two simultaneous states, and both are the first edition, first impression: a hardback in publisher's red boards with a dust jacket illustrated by Kerry Kirkwood, and a paperback in printed wrappers issued with no jacket.

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). UK Polygon (Edinburgh, 1986) is the true first and the only 1986 edition — Rankin's genuinely rare pre-Rebus debut — and the census claim is confirmed.

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

No book-club edition of the 1986 Polygon issue is documented in the sources consulted. The reprint tells that matter on this title are the later trade reissues, not a club: chiefly the 2005 Orion hardback (new introduction, black cloth, silver spine lettering, different pagination) and the Orion/Time Warner paperbacks that follow it. Any copy lacking the Polygon Edinburgh 1986 imprint is not the first, whatever the binding.

I have a first edition of The Flood — 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.