Is My The Time Ships a First Edition?

The points of issue

• US HarperPrism paperback, 1995 (early/January 1995); first printing indicated by the publisher number line counting down to 1
• This is the authorized sequel to Wells's The Time Machine, issued for the centenary of the original

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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
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?

Precedence corrected: the US HarperPrism paperback (early 1995) is the true first, appearing ahead of the UK HarperCollins/Voyager hardcover (May/June 1995). The original record had this reversed. Winner of the British Science Fiction Award (1995), the John W. Campbell Memorial Award (1996), and the Philip K. Dick Award for 1996 (presented 1997).P-029335

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The UK HarperCollins/Voyager 1995 hardcover is a desirable first hardcover edition and the first UK edition, but it follows the US HarperPrism paperback. A signed/slipcased Easton Press leather edition is a later collectible first thus.P-029336

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Time Ships a first edition?

A first edition of The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter (HarperPrism) is identified by: US HarperPrism paperback, 1995 (early/January 1995); first printing indicated by the publisher number line counting down to 1.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). Precedence corrected: the US HarperPrism paperback (early 1995) is the true first, appearing ahead of the UK HarperCollins/Voyager hardcover (May/June 1995).

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

The UK HarperCollins/Voyager 1995 hardcover is a desirable first hardcover edition and the first UK edition, but it follows the US HarperPrism paperback. A signed/slipcased Easton Press leather edition is a later collectible first thus.

I have a first edition of The Time Ships — 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.