Is My The Shrinking Man a First Edition?

The points of issue

• CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED. The paperback-original claim holds: the true first is the Gold Medal (Fawcett) paperback original, catalogue number s577, first printing May 1956, with the copyright page stating "First Printing, May 1956" — this dating is independently corroborated by the ISFDB title record (1956-05)
• 192 pp., cover art by Mitchell Hooks showing the shrunken man confronting a spider with a pin
• Gold Medal reissued the title under different catalogue numbers with later-printing statements, so number s577 together with the May 1956 first-printing line is the point
• The census claim that the first hardcover anywhere is a UK Frederick Muller edition of 1958 is REFUTED: no Frederick Muller edition of this title is recorded in any source consulted
• The first hardcover edition anywhere is David Bruce & Watson, London, 1973, with an introduction by Kingsley Amis — so catalogued by two independent specialist dealers who both cite the standard reference bibliographies (Anatomy of Wonder
• Barron, Horror Literature 4-219

How Gold Medal Books marked a first edition

• Gold Medal pioneered the PAPERBACK ORIGINAL — so the Gold Medal paperback is itself the first edition (no prior hardcover) for most of its crime/noir list. Identification centers on first-PRINTING points, not first-editi…
• First printing is identified by the Gold Medal serial number and the copyright-page printing notice: a true first usually has NO 'Second printing'/'Third printing' line; later printings explicitly state the printing and…

Full Gold Medal 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. 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 true first is the US Gold Medal paperback original (s577, May 1956). A separate British Gold Medal (Fawcett Publications) issue was also published in London in 1956, with its printed price — a distinct UK first printing that is collected in its own right. The first hardcover anywhere is David Bruce & Watson, London, 1973 (Kingsley Amis introduction), not a 1958 Muller hardcover as the census claimed. Later paperbacks retitled The Incredible Shrinking Man to match the 1957 Jack Arnold film are reprints under a changed title, not the first — a "first thus" trap.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue applies to a paperback original. Reprint tells: a Gold Medal catalogue number other than s577, or a copyright page giving a printing later than "First Printing, May 1956"; any hardcover predating 1973 should be treated as unrecorded and investigated rather than assumed.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Shrinking Man a first edition?

A first edition of The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson (Gold Medal Books) is identified by: CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED.

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 true first is the US Gold Medal paperback original (s577, May 1956).

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

No book-club issue applies to a paperback original. Reprint tells: a Gold Medal catalogue number other than s577, or a copyright page giving a printing later than "First Printing, May 1956"; any hardcover predating 1973 should be treated as unrecorded and investigated rather than assumed.

I have a first edition of The Shrinking Man — 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.