Is My The Name of the Rose a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first is the Italian Il nome della rosa (Bompiani, Milan, 1980), identified by 'I edizione settembre 1980' on the copyright page; issued in full cloth with a pictorial dust jacket reproducing a labyrinth schema, the first-issue jacket priced (price present at the flap/corner; the SIAE first-edition sticker is a further point)
• First English edition: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1983 (trans
• William Weaver) — the first printing is identified by 'First edition' with the letter string 'BCDE' (note the 'A' is ABSENT: HBJ's 1973–83 convention dropped the 'A' from first printings) plus the HBJ colophon
• First UK: Secker & Warburg, London, 1983
• The US HBJ precedes the UK

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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?

True first is the Italian Bompiani 1980 ('I edizione settembre 1980'). First in English is Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1983 (US), which precedes the first UK, Secker & Warburg, London, 1983 (both 1983; the US edition first).P-037393

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Italian printings show successive 'edizione' statements rather than 'I edizione settembre 1980.' On the US first, confirm 'First edition' with the letter line 'BCDE' (A absent) and the HBJ colophon — book-club lookalikes lack this letter line and the priced first-issue jacket. US and UK English firsts are distinguished by imprint (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich vs Secker & Warburg).P-037394

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Name of the Rose a first edition?

A first edition of The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (Bompiani) is identified by: True first is the Italian Il nome della rosa (Bompiani, Milan, 1980), identified by 'I edizione settembre 1980' on the copyright page; issued in full cloth with a pictorial dust jacket reproducing a labyrinth schema, the first-issue jacket priced (price present at the flap/corner; the SIAE first-edition sticker is a further point).

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. True first is the Italian Bompiani 1980 ('I edizione settembre 1980').

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

Later Italian printings show successive 'edizione' statements rather than 'I edizione settembre 1980.' On the US first, confirm 'First edition' with the letter line 'BCDE' (A absent) and the HBJ colophon — book-club lookalikes lack this letter line and the priced first-issue jacket. US and UK English firsts are distinguished by imprint (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich vs Secker & Warburg).

I have a first edition of The Name of the Rose — 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.