Is My The Other a First Edition?

The points of issue

• "FIRST EDITION" is stated on the copyright page (verso of the title leaf) — Knopf's house point, and it is removed on subsequent printings, which instead state the printing number and month (the second printing followed in June 1971, a third and further printings through the year, as the book held the New York Times best-seller list for more than six months)
• First printing was May 1971
• Bound in red cloth with foil-stamped lettering to the front board and spine and a black topstain; dealers consulted describe the stamping as silver to both board and spine, though one describes gilt to the front board with silver to the spine — the sources conflict on this single detail and it should not be used alone
• The dust jacket was designed by Paul Bacon (black lettering and vignette on a white ground) and should be present unclipped with the price at the flap

How Alfred A. Knopf, New York marked a first edition

• c.1970s onward (number-line era, added ALONGSIDE the words — it did not replace them): later Knopf firsts also carry a descending numeric printer's key (often with a manufacturing/printer code). A first printing shows th…

Full Alfred A. Knopf, New York 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?

The US Alfred A. Knopf edition of May 1971 is the true first — Tryon's first novel, and with The Exorcist a founding book of the 1970s horror boom. A first British edition was published by Jonathan Cape, London, also in 1971 (brown boards with gilt-lettered backstrip, 280 pp., carrying the same Paul Bacon jacket illustration); it is collected in its own right, but Knopf holds precedence. Where both are offered, name the Knopf as the true first and the Cape as the first British edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club copies are identified by a small blind-stamped dot to the rear board and a dust jacket with no price at the flap; one dealer records the August 1971 fifth printing having been used as the book-club issue. Because the club jacket carries the same Paul Bacon artwork, the rear-board dot and the unpriced flap are the tells — together with the absence of the "FIRST EDITION" statement on the copyright page.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Other a first edition?

A first edition of The Other by Thomas Tryon (Alfred A. Knopf, New York) is identified by: "FIRST EDITION" is stated on the copyright page (verso of the title leaf) — Knopf's house point, and it is removed on subsequent printings, which instead state the printing number and month (the second printing followed in June 1971, a third and further printings through the year, as the book held the New York Times best-seller list for more than six months).

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. The US Alfred A.

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

Book-club copies are identified by a small blind-stamped dot to the rear board and a dust jacket with no price at the flap; one dealer records the August 1971 fifth printing having been used as the book-club issue. Because the club jacket carries the same Paul Bacon artwork, the rear-board dot and the unpriced flap are the tells — together with the absence of the "FIRST EDITION" statement on the copyright page.

I have a first edition of The Other — 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.