Is My The Resurrection a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing states 'First Printing' on the copyright page, consistent with documented New American Library practice of using a first-edition statement together with a number row
• The book is an octavo bound in black cloth spine with brown faux-grain paper boards, the spine lettered in gilt; the jacket was designed by Ken Braren and should be a priced jacket with the price present at the flap
• The first printing was 2,500 copies, and the title is catalogued as Howell A.IV-1a
• Note that sources consulted disagree on the collation (241 pp. vs
• 244 pp.), so pagination is not offered as a point; rely on the copyright-page statement

How The New American Library marked a first edition

• First printing: the copyright page states 'First Printing' (often as 'First Signet printing, Month Year') with no later-printing lines; later printings stack the printing history. This explicit statement is the most reli…
• Signet/NAL adopted a descending number line; a complete line ending in 1 indicates a first printing. From roughly the 1970s on the 'First Signet printing, Month Year' line plus the number line appear together.

Full The New American Library 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 New American Library (New York), 1966, is the true first — Gardner's first novel, preceded in his bibliography only by the co-edited anthology The Forms of Fiction, and the first Gardner 'A' item of fiction. No contemporaneous British edition was traced in the sources consulted, so no UK/US precedence question arises on the evidence available. Published during David Segal's brief editorial tenure at NAL (1966-68). The later Ballantine paperback (0345238818) is a reprint, not a first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue of The Resurrection is documented in the sources consulted, and a first printing of 2,500 copies makes a contemporaneous club issue unlikely. The Ballantine paperback is a reprint rather than a club edition. Any copy lacking the 'First Printing' statement on the copyright page is a later printing or reprint.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Resurrection a first edition?

A first edition of The Resurrection by John Gardner (The New American Library) is identified by: The first printing states 'First Printing' on the copyright page, consistent with documented New American Library practice of using a first-edition statement together with a number row.

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 New American Library (New York), 1966, is the true first — Gardner's first novel, preceded in his bibliography only by the co-edited anthology The Forms of Fiction, and the first Gardner 'A' item of fiction.

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

No book-club issue of The Resurrection is documented in the sources consulted, and a first printing of 2,500 copies makes a contemporaneous club issue unlikely. The Ballantine paperback is a reprint rather than a club edition. Any copy lacking the 'First Printing' statement on the copyright page is a later printing or reprint.

I have a first edition of The Resurrection — 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.