Is My The Stealer of Souls a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Neville Spearman, London, published 25 October 1963
• Octavo, 215pp, jacket art by Guy Nicholls; on an unclipped example the price is present at the jacket flap
• No ISBN. The title page reads 'The Stealer of Souls and other stories' — the '...and other stories' subtitle was imposed by the publisher against Moorcock's wishes
• The controlling point is the binding: the first printing is bound in ORANGE cloth/boards with the spine lettered in black; an otherwise identical second printing is bound in GREEN boards
• Because the two printings are otherwise indistinguishable, board colour is the test — a green-board copy is a second printing however 'first edition' the copyright page may read

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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?

Census claim confirmed. This is a UK-only hardcover first: the first Elric book published and the first full-length book to appear under Moorcock's name, collecting the first five of the nine Elric novellas from Science Fantasy (June 1961 – April 1964). There is no competing US hardcover. The first American appearance is the Lancer paperback of 1967 (190pp, cover by Jack Gaughan) — a reprint, not a paperback original — and the first UK paperback is Mayflower, December 1968 (173pp, Bob Haberfield cover, reprinted 1969). Only the Spearman 1963 hardcover is the first edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The documented reprint tell is the second printing in green boards, otherwise identical to the orange-board first — the single most important trap on this title. Later omnibus appearances (Elric, 2001; Elric: The Stealer of Souls, 2008) are collections carrying revised and re-collected text, not reissues of the 1963 book; the constituent novellas were separately split into and absorbed by The Weird of the White Wolf and The Bane of the Black Sword (both 1977) in slightly revised form. No book-club edition is documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Stealer of Souls a first edition?

A first edition of The Stealer of Souls by Michael Moorcock (Neville Spearman) is identified by: Neville Spearman, London, published 25 October 1963.

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. Census claim confirmed.

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

The documented reprint tell is the second printing in green boards, otherwise identical to the orange-board first — the single most important trap on this title. Later omnibus appearances (Elric, 2001; Elric: The Stealer of Souls, 2008) are collections carrying revised and re-collected text, not reissues of the 1963 book; the constituent novellas were separately split into and absorbed by The Weird of the White Wolf and The Bane of the Black Sword (both 1977) in slightly revised form. No book-cl

I have a first edition of The Stealer of Souls — 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.