Is My The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Rushdie's first full-length non-fiction book
• The true UK first was issued as a Picador paperback original in printed pictorial wrappers (not a hardcover in boards), with a number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
• The Viking (Elisabeth Sifton Books) US edition, also 1987, was the first hardcover printing

How Picador / Pan Books marked a first edition

• Pre-mid-1920s: no statement on firsts; only later printings were noted (rely on negative evidence + dating)
• Mid-1920s onward: "First published [Year]" stated on the copyright page of first editions; later printings noted

Full Picador / Pan Books first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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 UK Picador paperback original (1987) is the true first edition; Jonathan Cape is named only in association and was not the issuing imprint. The US Viking hardcover (1987) was the first appearance in cloth.P-028687

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later printings of the Picador wrappered edition remove the 1 from the number line or add a printing statement.P-028688

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey a first edition?

A first edition of The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey by Salman Rushdie (Picador / Pan Books) is identified by: Rushdie's first full-length non-fiction book.

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 UK Picador paperback original (1987) is the true first edition; Jonathan Cape is named only in association and was not the issuing imprint.

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

Later printings of the Picador wrappered edition remove the 1 from the number line or add a printing statement.

I have a first edition of The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey — 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.