Is My The Moving Toyshop a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Gollancz house practice is the governing point: before 1984 no statement appears on a Gollancz first edition, while later impressions are noted on the copyright page, so an unstated copyright page is correct for the first
• The first is bound in publisher's navy/blue cloth with gilt lettering to the spine, in the characteristic yellow Gollancz jacket (often faded toward cream) lettered in purple/black on the front panel and spine; the jacket is a priced jacket, with the price present at the spine
• One dealer records 1946 on both the title and copyright pages, which is the expected agreement
• Third of the Gervase Fen novels, dedicated to Philip Larkin

How Victor Gollancz marked a first edition

• Pre-1984: NO first-edition statement was made — first printings carry no 'First published' line; ONLY later printings were noted (so absence of any printing statement = likely first, presence of a reprint note = later)
• For pre-1984 titles, confirm via dust-jacket points, dated jackets, and absence of reprint notation rather than a positive statement

Full Victor Gollancz 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 UK 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?

UK Gollancz 1946 is the true first; J. B. Lippincott (Philadelphia and New York) 1946 is the first American edition, published in the same year, and both are collected. The Lippincott is distinguished by teal blue cloth lettered in black, a pictorial jacket carrying a photograph of the author at the piano, and a Sketch Plan of Oxford — a different sheet entirely, so imprint and binding separate the two despite the shared date. Note one dealer records the book as published in 1945 with 1946 on the title and copyright pages; the printed date and the standard reference date are both 1946.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No title-specific book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. General tells apply to the American Lippincott: a blindstamp impressed on the rear board near the spine, a "Book Club Edition" notation on the jacket flap, or a jacket issued without a price. On the UK side the practical check is the Gollancz copyright page — a later impression is stated there.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Moving Toyshop a first edition?

A first edition of The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin (Robert Bruce Montgomery) (Victor Gollancz) is identified by: Gollancz house practice is the governing point: before 1984 no statement appears on a Gollancz first edition, while later impressions are noted on the copyright page, so an unstated copyright page is correct for the first.

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. UK Gollancz 1946 is the true first; J.

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

No title-specific book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. General tells apply to the American Lippincott: a blindstamp impressed on the rear board near the spine, a "Book Club Edition" notation on the jacket flap, or a jacket issued without a price. On the UK side the practical check is the Gollancz copyright page — a later impression is stated there.

I have a first edition of The Moving Toyshop — 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.