Is My The Thinking Machine a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1907, 8vo, 342 pages, illustrated by The Kinneys; the collection introduces Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, "The Thinking Machine", and includes "The Problem of Cell 13"
• Binding of the American first is black cloth with red titles and decorations (independently described by two dealers)
• Important caution on the copyright page: per the Quill & Brush publisher reference, Dodd, Mead placed no statement on first editions prior to 1976 AND often did not note subsequent printings — so a blank copyright page does not prove a first, and the absence-of-statement test that works for other houses fails here
• The reliable identification is therefore the 1907 date on the title page together with the Dodd, Mead imprint on the title page and spine, the Kinney illustrations, and the black cloth with red stamping; reprints issued under other imprints carry their own publisher's name on the spine and title page
• The title is a Haycraft–Queen Cornerstone and a Queen's Quorum selection

How Dodd, Mead & Company marked a first edition

• Prior to 1976: firsts have NO additional printings listed on the copyright page (no number line, no later-printing notice).
• Late 1976 onward: a sequence of numbers on the copyright page with '1' present indicates the first printing.

Full Dodd, Mead & Company 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 US Dodd, Mead (New York) 1907 edition is the true first. The UK edition — Chapman & Hall, Limited, London, 1907, in original red pictorial cloth lettered in gilt, also illustrated by The Kinneys — appeared later the same year and is catalogued by dealers as the first UK edition, with the American issue preceding it; both are collected, the Dodd, Mead as the true first and the Chapman & Hall as the first British. The census claim that Dodd, Mead 1907 is the ONLY edition is wrong and is corrected here: the same-year Chapman & Hall London issue exists and, because the two are only months apart and share the year, it is a genuine precedence trap for cataloguers. Per Quill & Brush, Chapman & Hall either stated "First published [Year]" or made no statement on firsts and noted subsequent printings. The stories had appeared earlier in periodical form, which is not a book edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 1907 Dodd, Mead printing. Because Dodd, Mead often did not note later printings, the practical later-issue tell is the imprint itself rather than a copyright-page notice: any copy bearing a reprint publisher's name on the spine or title page is not the first, and the black cloth with red titles plus the 1907 Dodd, Mead title page should be present together. Do not rely on a bare copyright page as evidence of first-printing status for this publisher and period.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Thinking Machine a first edition?

A first edition of The Thinking Machine by Jacques Futrelle (Dodd, Mead & Company) is identified by: Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1907, 8vo, 342 pages, illustrated by The Kinneys; the collection introduces Professor Augustus S.

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 US Dodd, Mead (New York) 1907 edition is the true first.

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

No book-club issue is documented for the 1907 Dodd, Mead printing. Because Dodd, Mead often did not note later printings, the practical later-issue tell is the imprint itself rather than a copyright-page notice: any copy bearing a reprint publisher's name on the spine or title page is not the first, and the black cloth with red titles plus the 1907 Dodd, Mead title page should be present together. Do not rely on a bare copyright page as evidence of first-printing status for this publisher and pe

I have a first edition of The Thinking Machine — 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.