Is My The Mothman Prophecies a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first edition of The Mothman Prophecies is the 1975 Saturday Review Press / E.P. Dutton hardcover (New York), identified by the complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page with the '1' present
• It is bound in black paper-covered boards over black spine cloth lettered in silver, collating [xii], 269 pages, with dust-jacket design by Peter Parnall
• The first-issue jacket should retain its printed front-flap price and be unclipped-agnostic only in that the price must be present; a clean, present price and the full number line together confirm the first printing

How Saturday Review Press marked a first edition

• c.1970-1973 (independent): First printings are most reliably identified by the absence of any later-printing or reprint statement on the copyright page. Do not rely on a number line as the primary signal for this short-l…
• c.1973-c.1976 (under E.P. Dutton): Titles appear as 'Saturday Review Press / E.P. Dutton' or 'Saturday Review Press, distributed by E.P. Dutton' and follow Dutton's documented post-1929 practice, where a first printing i…

Full Saturday Review Press 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. 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.
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 Saturday Review Press / E.P. Dutton hardcover (1975) is the true first.P-014794

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later printings and reprints reset or shorten the number line; book-club and later trade issues lack the priced first-issue Saturday Review Press jacket and the silver-stamped black-cloth binding described above.P-014795

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Mothman Prophecies a first edition?

A first edition of The Mothman Prophecies by John A. Keel (Saturday Review Press) is identified by: The true first edition of The Mothman Prophecies is the 1975 Saturday Review Press / E.P.

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). US Saturday Review Press / E.P.

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

Later printings and reprints reset or shorten the number line; book-club and later trade issues lack the priced first-issue Saturday Review Press jacket and the silver-stamped black-cloth binding described above.

I have a first edition of The Mothman Prophecies — 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.