Is My The Left Hand of Darkness a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Paperback original, Ace Science Fiction Special (series edited by Terry Carr), Ace catalogue number 47800, with wraparound cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon (who supplied the art for the Ace Specials line)
• A first printing shows 'An Ace Science Fiction Special' with the 47800 number and printed cover price on the front cover, NO Hugo/Nebula award announcement anywhere on the cover or wrapper, and NO stated printing or additional-printing line on the copyright page
• Retain the printed cover price

How Ace Books marked a first edition

• Price increases on later printings of the same/related serial number are a reliable later-STATE indicator. There is no well-documented, consistent Ace convention of an explicit 'First Ace printing: <Month Year>' statemen…

Full Ace 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. 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?

The Ace mass-market PAPERBACK is the true first edition and precedes the Walker & Company hardcover (US, 1969) — documented by L.W. Currey (246), who records that the hardcover was preceded the same year by the Ace paperback; the UK hardcover editions are later still. Because it was a paperback original, fine first-printing copies are scarce. The novel won the 1969 Nebula and 1970 Hugo, but a genuine first printing predates those wins and therefore carries NO award banner. The Walker hardcover is routinely miscalled 'the first,' but the paperback holds precedence.P-037404

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Ace printings add award mentions to the cover, a stated later printing on the copyright page, and a raised price. The Walker hardcover — and any book-club hardcover issue — is later than the Ace paperback original.P-037405

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Left Hand of Darkness a first edition?

A first edition of The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (Ace Books) is identified by: Paperback original, Ace Science Fiction Special (series edited by Terry Carr), Ace catalogue number 47800, with wraparound cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon (who supplied the art for the Ace Specials line).

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. The Ace mass-market PAPERBACK is the true first edition and precedes the Walker & Company hardcover (US, 1969) — documented by L.W.

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

Later Ace printings add award mentions to the cover, a stated later printing on the copyright page, and a raised price. The Walker hardcover — and any book-club hardcover issue — is later than the Ace paperback original.

I have a first edition of The Left Hand of Darkness — 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.