Is My The World of Null-A a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First book edition: Simon & Schuster, New York, 1948, issued under the title "The World of Ā" — the title page carries the Ā symbol, not the spelled-out "Null-A", which is itself a first-issue tell (the "Null-A" spelling belongs to the later Ace paperbacks)
• Simon & Schuster used no first-edition statement in this period: per Quill & Brush, "Until 1952, no statement on first editions, but subsequent printings noted," and fedpo records "no printing statement" with matching title-page and copyright-page dates for S&S books of 1934–1948
• L. W. Currey's catalogue entry for the 1948 first likewise records "No statement of printing." So the point is negative: a true first has 1948 on both title and copyright pages and nothing on the copyright page indicating a later printing — any "Second printing" or similar note disqualifies it
• Collation is 246 pp. plus terminal leaf, cloth octavo, in a priced pictorial jacket (price present at the flap; a clipped flap removes the evidence)
• Dealer descriptions of the cloth shade and stamping colour are not consistent with one another, so binding colour alone should not be treated as a decisive point

How Simon & Schuster marked a first edition

• CROSS-CHECK across all number-line eras: A 1-bearing number line is frequently paired with a spelled-out first-issue statement (which may read 'First Printing' OR 'First Edition' — both occur at S&S). When a positive sta…

Full Simon & Schuster 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 Simon & Schuster 1948 US edition is the true first book edition worldwide and the census claim is correct. It was preceded only by the magazine serial in Astounding Science Fiction (August–October 1945), which the book text revises. There is no competing early UK edition: the first British hardcover is Dennis Dobson, London, 1969 — more than two decades later — so US precedence is not in dispute. First-thus trap: the 1970 Berkley Medallion text is a further authorial revision (new passages and a new van Vogt introduction) and is a distinct text state, not a first edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Grosset & Dunlap issued a 1950 hardcover reprint, also titled "The World of Ā" and carrying a Groff Conklin introduction; the G&D imprint on the spine and title page is the reprint tell, and copies are commonly mistaken for the S&S first because the S&S first has no edition statement to contrast against. Later Ace paperbacks retitled the book "The World of Null-A". No separate book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The World of Null-A a first edition?

A first edition of The World of Null-A by A. E. van Vogt (Simon & Schuster) is identified by: First book edition: Simon & Schuster, New York, 1948, issued under the title "The World of Ā" — the title page carries the Ā symbol, not the spelled-out "Null-A", which is itself a first-issue tell (the "Null-A" spelling belongs to the later Ace paperbacks).

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 Simon & Schuster 1948 US edition is the true first book edition worldwide and the census claim is correct.

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

Grosset & Dunlap issued a 1950 hardcover reprint, also titled "The World of Ā" and carrying a Groff Conklin introduction; the G&D imprint on the spine and title page is the reprint tell, and copies are commonly mistaken for the S&S first because the S&S first has no edition statement to contrast against. Later Ace paperbacks retitled the book "The World of Null-A". No separate book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted.

I have a first edition of The World of Null-A — 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.