Is My The Land That Time Forgot a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is Chicago, A. C. McClurg & Co., 1924, issued 14 June 1924
• Copyright page of the first printing reads 'Published June, 1924'
• Collation: octavo, [1-8] 1-422 [423-424: blank], final leaf blank, with FOUR inserted sepia plates by J. Allen St
• Binding is original green cloth; sources conflict on the stamping — L. W. Currey records the front and spine panels stamped in black, while other ABA dealer descriptions of the same edition report the titles to spine and front in blue
• Because that conflict is unresolved, treat the green cloth plus the 'Published June, 1924' statement and the four-plate count as the working points and do NOT use stamping colour to reject a copy
• First printing 10,000 copies

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 1924 volume is an omnibus and is the first book appearance of all three Caspak novellas — 'The Land That Time Forgot', 'The People That Time Forgot' and 'Out of Time's Abyss' — which had appeared separately in Blue Book for August, October and December 1918. The census note of a 'three-part magazine text 1918' is confirmed. A first UK edition from Methuen is claimed for 1925 by the census but could NOT be confirmed against any independent source in this pass; do not publish the Methuen year as fact.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Grosset & Dunlap reprinted in 1925 using the same 422-page text and the St. John jacket, but with only THREE interior plates against the McClurg first's four — plate count plus the G&D imprint is the tell. A second, subtler trap: Ace Books split the omnibus into three separate paperback volumes in 1963, so a volume titled 'The Land That Time Forgot' containing a single novella is a 'first thus' at best and never the 1924 first. No book-club issue is documented.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Land That Time Forgot a first edition?

A first edition of The Land That Time Forgot 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.

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

Grosset & Dunlap reprinted in 1925 using the same 422-page text and the St. John jacket, but with only THREE interior plates against the McClurg first's four — plate count plus the G&D imprint is the tell. A second, subtler trap: Ace Books split the omnibus into three separate paperback volumes in 1963, so a volume titled 'The Land That Time Forgot' containing a single novella is a 'first thus' at best and never the 1924 first. No book-club issue is documented.

I have a first edition of The Land That Time Forgot — 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.