Is My The Gate of Angels a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the 1990 Collins hardcover (London), which states 'First published 1990' on the copyright page and carries the Collins imprint at the foot of the title page (ISBN 0-00-223527-7)
• Cloth or paper-covered boards in a pictorial dust jacket; the jacket should retain its printed price and should be present
• Booker Prize shortlisted in 1990 (the prize went to A.S. Byatt's Possession)
• The near-simultaneous Collins Flamingo paperback (ISBN 0-00-654360-X) is a first paperback, not the first edition

How Collins marked a first edition

• After 1990 (HarperCollins) follow HarperCollins number-line conventions

Full Collins 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 UK Collins hardcover (1990) is the true first; the US Houghton Mifflin/Doubleday edition follows in 1992. The UK precedes. The Flamingo paperback of 1990 is a simultaneous or slightly later softcover issue, not the first edition.P-024383

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No notable book-club edition. The distinction to watch is the hardcover first over the near-simultaneous Flamingo paperback and the later US edition.P-024384

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Gate of Angels a first edition?

A first edition of The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald (Collins) is identified by: The true first is the 1990 Collins hardcover (London), which states 'First published 1990' on the copyright page and carries the Collins imprint at the foot of the title page (ISBN 0-00-223527-7).

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 UK Collins hardcover (1990) is the true first; the US Houghton Mifflin/Doubleday edition follows in 1992.

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

No notable book-club edition. The distinction to watch is the hardcover first over the near-simultaneous Flamingo paperback and the later US edition.

I have a first edition of The Gate of Angels — 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.