Is My The Owl Service a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first impression: London, Collins, 1967
• Collins of this period placed no edition statement on its firsts — the copyright page carries the first-publication date and no impression or reprint line, and that absence is the primary test; later impressions add a line ('Reprinted 1968', 'Second impression')
• Original cloth lettered at the spine, in the pictorial dust jacket designed by Kenneth Farnhill; the jacket should be unclipped with the price present at the flap
• Dealer reports of the cloth conflict: copies catalogued as the first printing are described as orange-red cloth lettered in gilt, while a copy catalogued as the second impression is described as blue-grey cloth lettered in silver
• Because each colour rests on a single dealer description, cloth colour must not be relied on alone — confirm by the absence of a reprint line on the copyright page

How Collins marked a first edition

• First editions either carry NO additional printing statement on the copyright page or state "First published [Year]" — practice was not fully consistent, so confirm with jacket/ad dating
• Later printings noted with impression lines; their absence supports a first

Full Collins 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 Collins (London), 1967 is the true first and precedes all others; it won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. The first American edition is Henry Z. Walck, Inc., New York, 1968, which states 'First American edition 1968' on the copyright page; it is bound in black cloth with a silver-stamped circular vignette to the front board and silver-lettered spine, in a jacket designed by Janet Halverson. Both the Collins and the Walck are collected, but the Walck is a separate later edition, not the true first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The commonest traps are later Collins impressions, which retain the 1967 first-publication date but add a reprint or impression line, and reissues following the 1969 ITV serialisation. Price-clipped and facsimile jackets are the other frequent substitution on the UK first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Owl Service a first edition?

A first edition of The Owl Service by Alan Garner (Collins) is identified by: First edition, first impression: London, Collins, 1967.

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 Collins (London), 1967 is the true first and precedes all others; it won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.

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

No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The commonest traps are later Collins impressions, which retain the 1967 first-publication date but add a reprint or impression line, and reissues following the 1969 ITV serialisation. Price-clipped and facsimile jackets are the other frequent substitution on the UK first.

I have a first edition of The Owl Service — 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.