Is My The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis a First Edition?

The points of issue

• US Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1991 first edition, translated by Giovanni Pontiero, jacket design by Vaughn Andrews
• This US edition is the true first English printing; the UK Harvill edition did not appear until 1992
• The first printing is bound in quarter black cloth over mid-blue paper boards, stamped in blue foil to the spine, and the copyright page carries the Harcourt Brace Jovanovich printer's letter code descending to A (the 'A B C D E' / 'ABCDE' form) with no later-printing statement
• The first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed front-flap price

How Harcourt Brace Jovanovich marked a first edition

• 1919-1921 (Harcourt, Brace & Howe): number '1' on copyright page = first printing, '2' = second, etc.
• 1921-1931: no statement on first printings; the first-edition notice (when later adopted) was simply absent, so rely on no later-printing notice.

Full Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 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?

First English translation of O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis (Caminho, Lisbon, 1984). The US Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1991 edition (ISBN 0151997357) precedes the UK Harvill 1992 edition.P-017019

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No distinctive book-club edition recorded; identify the trade first by the 1991 Harcourt Brace Jovanovich imprint, the printer's letter code ending in A on the copyright page, and the printed jacket price on the front flap.P-017020

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis a first edition?

A first edition of The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis by José Saramago (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich) is identified by: US Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1991 first edition, translated by Giovanni Pontiero, jacket design by Vaughn Andrews.

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. First English translation of O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis (Caminho, Lisbon, 1984).

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

No distinctive book-club edition recorded; identify the trade first by the 1991 Harcourt Brace Jovanovich imprint, the printer's letter code ending in A on the copyright page, and the printed jacket price on the front flap.

I have a first edition of The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis — 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.