Is My The New Centurions a First Edition?

The points of issue

• "FIRST EDITION" is stated on the copyright page
• The decisive jacket point is the author biography on the rear panel, which in the first printing describes Wambaugh as "half-Mexican" — wording removed from later printings — and the first-printing jacket carries no mention anywhere of a Book-of-the-Month Club selection
• The book is an octavo of 376 pages, bound in blue paper-covered boards with a blue cloth spine strip lettered in bright silver, with blue endpapers, and the publisher's Little, Brown / Atlantic device blind-stamped on the rear board
• The jacket should be priced at the front flap (price present, not clipped) — but see the book-club note, because price presence alone does not establish a first on this title

How Little, Brown marked a first edition

• From 1940 onward: Little, Brown adopted an explicit statement, printing 'First Edition' OR 'First Printing' on the copyright page of a first printing. Presence of that phrase, with no overriding later-printing line, deno…
• Late 1970s onward: Little, Brown added a descending number line to the copyright page. Per the trade-house standard, the first printing is present only when the line still contains a '1' (e.g., '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1'); t…

Full Little, Brown 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?

US Little, Brown (Boston, 1970) is the true first, and the census claim is confirmed — Wambaugh's debut and the founding modern police procedural. The first UK edition is Michael Joseph (London, 1971), a year later, and is separately collected as the first British edition; UK Sphere and Futura issues are paperback reprints. Later Little, Brown Book Group, Quercus, and Grand Central reissues (some with a Michael Connelly introduction) are first-thus, not firsts.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

This is the classic trap on this title. The book-club edition is otherwise identical to the trade first and its jacket even carries a printed price, so price presence alone will not sort them. Two documented tells decide it: the club jacket adds a "Book of the Month Selection" statement to the left of the price, which is absent from the trade first; and the club board carries a small square or round blindstamp at the lower right corner of the rear board near the spine, which is a different mark from the publisher's own larger blind-stamped Little, Brown / Atlantic device found on genuine firsts. Check both before calling a copy a first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The New Centurions a first edition?

A first edition of The New Centurions by Joseph Wambaugh (Little, Brown) is identified by: "FIRST EDITION" is stated on the copyright page.

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. US Little, Brown (Boston, 1970) is the true first, and the census claim is confirmed — Wambaugh's debut and the founding modern police procedural.

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

This is the classic trap on this title. The book-club edition is otherwise identical to the trade first and its jacket even carries a printed price, so price presence alone will not sort them. Two documented tells decide it: the club jacket adds a "Book of the Month Selection" statement to the left of the price, which is absent from the trade first; and the club board carries a small square or round blindstamp at the lower right corner of the rear board near the spine, which is a different mark

I have a first edition of The New Centurions — 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.