Is My The Historian a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing is identified by the complete descending number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page; any line whose lowest digit is higher than 1 is a later printing
• This matches Little, Brown's documented practice, which since the late 1970s has used a number line with "1" present, alongside a "First Edition" or "First Printing" statement
• Bound in pink and black cloth over boards
• 642 pages
• ISBN 0-316-01177-0
• Jacket should be present, unclipped, with the price present at the flap

How Little, Brown and Company, New York marked a first edition

• From 1940 onward: Little, Brown adopted an explicit statement, printing 'First Edition' OR 'First Printing' on the copyright page of a first printing. Presence of that phrase, with no overriding later-printing line, deno…
• Late 1970s onward: Little, Brown added a descending number line to the copyright page. Per the trade-house standard, the first printing is present only when the line still contains a '1' (e.g., '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1'); t…

Full Little, Brown and Company, New York 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 Little, Brown and Company edition (New York, June 2005) is the true first. Kostova is American and the book originated with Little, Brown in New York, which then sold rights into 28 countries. A UK hardback from Little, Brown (London) appeared later in 2005; it is a genuine first UK edition but not the true first, and the census description of the two as simultaneous overstates the case — the US on-sale date precedes.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for this title in the sources consulted. General-purpose book-club tells for a US trade hardcover of this period apply if a suspect copy appears: reduced trim size, lighter board bulk, a blind-stamped dot or square at the lower rear board, absence of an ISBN or number line on the copyright page, and a jacket with no price at the flap. The Back Bay trade paperback is a reprint.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Historian a first edition?

A first edition of The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (Little, Brown and Company, New York) is identified by: The first printing is identified by the complete descending number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page; any line whose lowest digit is higher than 1 is a later printing.

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 Little, Brown and Company edition (New York, June 2005) is the true first.

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

No book-club issue is documented for this title in the sources consulted. General-purpose book-club tells for a US trade hardcover of this period apply if a suspect copy appears: reduced trim size, lighter board bulk, a blind-stamped dot or square at the lower rear board, absence of an ISBN or number line on the copyright page, and a jacket with no price at the flap. The Back Bay trade paperback is a reprint.

I have a first edition of The Historian — 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.