Is My The Gods of Mars a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is Chicago, A. C. McClurg & Co., 1918, issued 28 September 1918
• Copyright page of the first printing reads 'Published September, 1918' AND carries the printer credit 'W. F. HALL PRINTING COMPANY, CHICAGO'; reference practice (First Edition Points) treats a copy with the McClurg 1918 title page but WITHOUT the W. F. Hall imprint as a later state, so the Hall credit is the decisive point rather than the 'Published September' line alone
• Binding: publisher's red cloth, front and spine panels stamped in black with the front panel also stamped in blind
• Octavo, 348 pp., with an inserted sepia frontispiece by Frank E. Schoonover repeating the jacket art
• First printing 10,000 copies
• McClurg printed at least twice, the later printing dated 1919

How A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago marked a first edition

• 1900-1930s: continued reliance on the dated title page; later printings often added 'Published (month, year)' impression lines on the copyright page, so absence of such later dates indicates a first printing. For key tit…

Full A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago 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?

US original — the McClurg Chicago 1918 edition precedes all others and is the true first in book form. The first UK edition is separately collected and should be named: Methuen & Co., London, 1920, with 'First published in Great Britain in 1920' stated on the copyright page, in green cloth lettered black. The text first appeared serially in All-Story, January–May 1913, so the 1918 McClurg is the first book appearance, not the first publication of the text.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Grosset & Dunlap reprinted the title from 1919 onward: the G&D imprint appears at the spine foot and on the title page, and the early Burroughs G&D reprints are bound in the house tan-grey cloth with darker lettering rather than McClurg's red cloth — cloth colour plus imprint is the fastest tell. Separately, later McClurg printings (through 1919) retain the McClurg imprint but lack the W. F. Hall printing credit; these are the copies most often mis-sold as firsts.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Gods of Mars a first edition?

A first edition of The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago) is identified by: The true first is Chicago, A.

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. US original — the McClurg Chicago 1918 edition precedes all others and is the true first in book form.

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

Grosset & Dunlap reprinted the title from 1919 onward: the G&D imprint appears at the spine foot and on the title page, and the early Burroughs G&D reprints are bound in the house tan-grey cloth with darker lettering rather than McClurg's red cloth — cloth colour plus imprint is the fastest tell. Separately, later McClurg printings (through 1919) retain the McClurg imprint but lack the W. F. Hall printing credit; these are the copies most often mis-sold as firsts.

I have a first edition of The Gods of Mars — 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.