Is My The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First English-language edition, translated by Jay Rubin. 'First American Edition' is stated on the copyright page beneath Knopf's running-borzoi (Borzoi) colophon
• On a Knopf Borzoi first printing the identifying point is the PRESENCE of the numeral 1 in the number line (which reads 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2) — not a line that 'descends' or 'ends in 1' (the line actually ends in 2, with the 1 at its head)
• Collates [viii], 611, [3] pages in blue-and-white pictorial boards; issued in an unclipped pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the front flap
• The English text is shorter than the Japanese: at Knopf's request Rubin cut about 25,000 words — three complete chapters (Book Two chapters 15 and 18, and Book Three chapter 26) plus part of Book Two chapter 17, roughly 61 of the original ~1,379 pages — with Murakami's approval

How Alfred A. Knopf marked a first edition

• c.1970s onward (number-line era, added ALONGSIDE the words — it did not replace them): later Knopf firsts also carry a descending numeric printer's key (often with a manufacturing/printer code). A first printing shows th…

Full Alfred A. Knopf 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. 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?

Knopf US 1997 (published October 1997) is the true first English-language edition. The Harvill Press UK edition followed in 1998, issued as a paperback original (no UK hardcover was published initially), so the US hardcover clearly precedes the UK. The Japanese original, Nejimaki-dori kuronikuru, appeared in three volumes (1994-1995), which correspond to the three 'books' of the single-volume English text.P-036759

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No significant English book-club edition. The absolute true first is the Japanese three-volume edition (1994-1995). Among English printings, the stated 'First American Edition' plus the presence of the numeral 1 in Knopf's number line distinguishes the Knopf first from later Knopf printings and from the 1998 UK Harvill issue.P-036760

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle a first edition?

A first edition of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (Alfred A. Knopf) is identified by: First English-language edition, translated by Jay Rubin.

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). Knopf US 1997 (published October 1997) is the true first English-language edition.

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

No significant English book-club edition. The absolute true first is the Japanese three-volume edition (1994-1995). Among English printings, the stated 'First American Edition' plus the presence of the numeral 1 in Knopf's number line distinguishes the Knopf first from later Knopf printings and from the 1998 UK Harvill issue.

I have a first edition of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle — 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.