Is My The Humanoids a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First book edition: Simon & Schuster, New York, 1949
• Identification is by absence, not by statement: Quill & Brush records that for Simon & Schuster "Until 1952, no statement on first editions, but subsequent printings noted," and fedpo agrees that S&S books of this era show no printing statement with matching title-page and copyright-page dates
• A true first therefore reads 1949 on both the title and copyright pages and carries nothing on the copyright page indicating a later printing; any "Second printing" or later note on the copyright page disqualifies the copy
• The book is an octavo in cloth-covered boards, issued in a priced pictorial jacket (price present at the flap)
• One dealer reports a five-digit number stamped on the rear endpaper as a first-printing marker, but this is uncorroborated and is contradicted by the standard Simon & Schuster publisher guides, which identify first printings solely by the absence of a printing statement — do not rely on the endpaper number

How Simon & Schuster marked a first edition

• CROSS-CHECK across all number-line eras: A 1-bearing number line is frequently paired with a spelled-out first-issue statement (which may read 'First Printing' OR 'First Edition' — both occur at S&S). When a positive sta…

Full Simon & Schuster 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 and the true first book edition; the census claim is correct. The text was first serialized in Astounding Science Fiction (1948) as "…And Searching Mind", a sequel to the 1947 Astounding novelette "With Folded Hands" — magazine appearances only, not book editions. The first British edition is Museum Press, London, 1953, four years after the US book, so the Simon & Schuster 1949 clearly holds precedence and the UK issue is not a rival first. New Mexico author (Portales); this is the trade-house counterpart to Williamson's Fantasy Press titles.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Grosset & Dunlap issued a hardcover reprint in 1950 bearing its own imprint; the G&D imprint on the spine and title page is the reprint tell, and it is the copy most often mistaken for the S&S first precisely because the genuine first carries no edition statement to compare against. Later Avon and Lancer paperbacks carry their own imprints. No separate contemporaneous book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Humanoids a first edition?

A first edition of The Humanoids by Jack Williamson (Simon & Schuster) is identified by: First book edition: Simon & Schuster, New York, 1949.

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 and the true first book edition; the census claim is correct.

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

Grosset & Dunlap issued a hardcover reprint in 1950 bearing its own imprint; the G&D imprint on the spine and title page is the reprint tell, and it is the copy most often mistaken for the S&S first precisely because the genuine first carries no edition statement to compare against. Later Avon and Lancer paperbacks carry their own imprints. No separate contemporaneous book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted.

I have a first edition of The Humanoids — 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.