Is My The Periodic Table a First Edition?

The points of issue

• New York: Schocken Books, 1984 — the first English-language edition, translated by Raymond Rosenthal
• Octavo; blue cloth boards stamped in silver on the spine; the first printing carries the complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page
• Illustrated dust jacket with the printed price present at the front flap; pagination [8], 3-233, [1] pp
• Later printings raise the low digit of the number line and add impression statements

How Schocken Books marked a first edition

• Random House / Penguin Random House house style: true first printing carries a "First Edition" statement and/or a full number line whose lowest digit is 1.
• First printing has no later-printing notice; the lowest number in the number line is the decisive tell.

Full Schocken Books 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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
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 true first of the work overall is the Italian 'Il sistema periodico' (Turin: Einaudi, 1975). The first edition in English is the US Schocken Books edition of 1984 (trans. Raymond Rosenthal); the UK Michael Joseph edition followed in 1985 — so Schocken, not Michael Joseph, is the first English-language appearance. Do not conflate the 1984 US and 1985 UK years.P-037106

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

For the English-language first, the US Schocken 1984 precedes the UK Michael Joseph 1985. No book-club issue is documented as a trap here; the reprint tells are the raised low digit of the number line and added impression statements on later Schocken printings.P-037107

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Periodic Table a first edition?

A first edition of The Periodic Table by Primo Levi (Schocken Books) is identified by: New York: Schocken Books, 1984 — the first English-language edition, translated by Raymond Rosenthal.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). The true first of the work overall is the Italian 'Il sistema periodico' (Turin: Einaudi, 1975).

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

For the English-language first, the US Schocken 1984 precedes the UK Michael Joseph 1985. No book-club issue is documented as a trap here; the reprint tells are the raised low digit of the number line and added impression statements on later Schocken printings.

I have a first edition of The Periodic Table — 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.