Is My The Hunger and Other Stories a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Beaumont's first book, published April 1957; seventeen stories, of which eight are printed here for the first time (including "The Crooked Man")
• Octavo, 234 pages
• L. W. Currey records no statement of printing on the copyright page — the first printing is therefore identified negatively, by the Putnam's imprint and 1957 date with nothing added, and any copy carrying a later-printing statement is ruled out
• Bound in grey cloth-grain paper-covered boards with the spine lettered in blue and white; note that dealer descriptions of the board colour vary and at least one ABAA dealer records navy cloth, so treat the grey/blue-and-white description as the predominant but not universal reading
• The pictorial dust jacket is by Ronald Clyne and carries a printed price at the front flap

How G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York marked a first edition

• PRE-1928 (early independent house): Putnam printed NO first-edition statement. Identify a first by matching the copyright-page year to the title-page year with no reprint/later-printing notice on the copyright page. Afte…
• US, 1928–1959: still NO positive first-edition statement — firsts are identified by ABSENCE. Later printings add a dated 'First printed' (and subsequent-printing) notice beneath the copyright notice; a copyright page lac…

Full G. P. Putnam's Sons, 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. 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 first: G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, April 1957 — the true first and Beaumont's first book. There was no contemporary British hardcover. The UK edition came seven years later, retitled Shadow Play (1964, reported as a Panther paperback), which is a retitled reprint and not a first — the retitle is the main precedence trap for this book. The Valancourt Books edition (2013) is a "first thus" reprint, described by its publisher as the first new edition in roughly half a century.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club printing is documented in the ABAA dealer or auction descriptions consulted. Later Putnam printings are separated from the first by an added printing statement on the copyright page. The commonest mis-sale is the retitled UK Shadow Play (1964) offered as an edition of The Hunger.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Hunger and Other Stories a first edition?

A first edition of The Hunger and Other Stories by Charles Beaumont (G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York) is identified by: Beaumont's first book, published April 1957; seventeen stories, of which eight are printed here for the first time (including "The Crooked Man").

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 first: G.

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

No book-club printing is documented in the ABAA dealer or auction descriptions consulted. Later Putnam printings are separated from the first by an added printing statement on the copyright page. The commonest mis-sale is the retitled UK Shadow Play (1964) offered as an edition of The Hunger.

I have a first edition of The Hunger and Other Stories — 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.