Is My The Strain a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing is the William Morrow (New York) hardcover of 2009, ISBN 0061558230 / 9780061558238, 401 pp., published 2 June 2009
• The copyright page carries a stated "First edition" together with the publisher's first-printing number code sequence running 1 through 10
• This title has a genuine jacket point of issue: the first-issue dust jacket has a "peek-a-boo" die-cut in the front panel and raised lettering on the front panel; later issues are NOT cut out
• The first-issue jacket also carries a printed date code "0609" at the front inner flap, and should be a priced jacket with the price present at the flap
• Binding: glossy red and black illustrated boards with cream/white lettering to the spine, red endpapers, and plum headband and tailband
• Jacket design by Ervin Serrano

How William Morrow, New York marked a first edition

• 1922–c.1962 (Harper & Brothers, stated-first era): from 1922 Harper & Brothers began printing the words 'First Edition' on the copyright page. IMPORTANT: the letter printing code did NOT stop in 1922 — it continued to ap…
• Reading the year code (the central trap): the year sequence begins M=1912 and runs forward through the alphabet — M=1912, N=1913, O=1914 … Z=1925, A=1926, B=1927 … L=1936. In 1937 the alphabet is RECYCLED: it restarts at…

Full William Morrow, New York 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 and UK were genuinely simultaneous, and the census claim is CONFIRMED. The William Morrow hardcover (New York) is dated 2 June 2009 and the HarperCollins UK hardcover, ISBN 0007310250 / 9780007310258, is likewise dated 2 June 2009. Both are collected; the Morrow is the copy carrying the documented die-cut first-issue jacket point, and is the edition dealers describe in detail. Written in English, so no original-language question arises.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No US book-club issue is documented. The decisive reprint tell is the jacket: a later-issue jacket has a solid (uncut) front panel where the first issue is die-cut, so a copy in an uncut jacket is not in first-issue state regardless of the copyright page. Additional reprint tells are loss of the "First edition" statement and a number line no longer running to 1. Absence of the "0609" flap date code is a further caution.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Strain a first edition?

A first edition of The Strain by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan (William Morrow, New York) is identified by: The first printing is the William Morrow (New York) hardcover of 2009, ISBN 0061558230 / 9780061558238, 401 pp., published 2 June 2009.

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 and UK were genuinely simultaneous, and the census claim is CONFIRMED.

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

No US book-club issue is documented. The decisive reprint tell is the jacket: a later-issue jacket has a solid (uncut) front panel where the first issue is die-cut, so a copy in an uncut jacket is not in first-issue state regardless of the copyright page. Additional reprint tells are loss of the "First edition" statement and a number line no longer running to 1. Absence of the "0609" flap date code is a further caution.

I have a first edition of The Strain — 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.