# Is "The Man Who Japed" by Philip K. Dick a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Man Who Japed by Philip K. Dick (Ace, 1956) is identified by: Ace Double D-193, a paperback original bound tete-beche (dos-a-dos, back-to-back) with E. The US Ace Double paperback original (D-193, December 1956) is the true first edition; the text was cut by roughly seventy-five typescript pages to fit the Ace Double format.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Ace Double D-193, a paperback original bound tete-beche (dos-a-dos, back-to-back) with E. C. Tubb's 'The Space-Born'; published December 1956 at a printed cover printed price
- The Man Who Japed side carries cover art by Ed Emshwiller, his first of many Ace Double covers
- As a paperback original the printed price and the D-193 catalogue number on the covers are the identifying points; there is no dust jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Ace
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Philip K. Dick |
| Publisher | Ace |
| Year | 1956 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Ace Double D-193, a paperback original bound tete-beche (dos-a-dos, back-to-back) with E. C. Tubb's 'The Space-Born'; published December… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Ace Double D-193, a paperback original bound tete-beche (dos-a-dos, back-to-back) with E. C. Tubb's 'The Space-Born'; published December 1956 at a printed cover printed price. The Man Who Japed side carries cover art by Ed Emshwiller, his first of many Ace Double covers. As a paperback original the printed price and the D-193 catalogue number on the covers are the identifying points; there is no dust jacket.

## Is this the true first?
The US Ace Double paperback original (D-193, December 1956) is the true first edition; the text was cut by roughly seventy-five typescript pages to fit the Ace Double format.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition exists; this title appeared only as a paperback original, so later reprints under different Ace or other imprints do not carry the D-193 number.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Man Who Japed* by Philip K. Dick a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-man-who-japed
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.