Is My The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First English-language edition: the UK hardcover, MacLehose Press / Quercus, London, 2008, translated by Reg Keeland — a pseudonym of Steven T. Murray, who adopted it because he objected to the publisher's editing of his text (the UK house 'prettified' his translation)
• The reliable first-printing identifier is a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
• This UK edition precedes the first American edition (Alfred A. Knopf, September 2008): both appeared in 2008, with the UK first
• First printings predate the book's runaway success, so the first-issue priced jacket carries no film tie-in or bestseller banners; later printings and issues added review / 'major motion picture' slugs

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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?

World true first is the Swedish original, Män som hatar kvinnor ('Men Who Hate Women'), Norstedts, Stockholm, 2005, published posthumously (Larsson died in 2004). For English collectors the UK MacLehose/Quercus 2008 is the first English edition and the sought issue; the first American is Alfred A. Knopf, September 2008. Both English firsts are dated 2008 — the UK precedes the US.P-037309

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is the trap here; the trap is conflating three firsts. Distinguish the Swedish true first (Norstedts 2005) from the UK first-English (Quercus/MacLehose 2008, number line ending in 1) from the US first-American (Knopf 2008). The US Knopf is NOT the first English-language printing — the UK edition precedes it.P-037310

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a first edition?

A first edition of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (MacLehose Press / Quercus) is identified by: First English-language edition: the UK hardcover, MacLehose Press / Quercus, London, 2008, translated by Reg Keeland — a pseudonym of Steven T.

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). World true first is the Swedish original, Män som hatar kvinnor ('Men Who Hate Women'), Norstedts, Stockholm, 2005, published posthumously (Larsson died in 2004).

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

No book-club edition is the trap here; the trap is conflating three firsts. Distinguish the Swedish true first (Norstedts 2005) from the UK first-English (Quercus/MacLehose 2008, number line ending in 1) from the US first-American (Knopf 2008). The US Knopf is NOT the first English-language printing — the UK edition precedes it.

I have a first edition of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo — 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.