Is My This House of Sky a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1978, 314 pp (ISBN 015190054X)
• Doig's first book, a National Book Award finalist
• HBJ's house convention for 1973 to about 1983 — documented independently by ILAB's publisher identification guide and by Evening Land Books — is "First edition" on the copyright page together with the letter code "BCDE," the leading "A" having been dropped in exactly these years; later printings shed the leading letters, reading "CDE" for a second printing, "DE" for a third, and so on, and drop the "First edition" line
• This title falls squarely inside that window, so the copyright page is the test; note that the letter line is the documented house rule for the period rather than a collation published for this title specifically, and should be confirmed on the copy in hand
• The book is bound in quarter green cloth over paper-covered boards, and the first-issue jacket is priced at the front flap — dealers (Town's End Books, ABAA) record price-clipping as a condition defect, so the price should be present at the flap on an intact copy

How Harcourt Brace Jovanovich marked a first edition

• 1973-1983 (HBJ): used a letter code 'BCDE...' (no leading A) plus 'First Edition'.

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 British 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?

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York) 1978 is the true first, and the census is confirmed. No contemporaneous British edition surfaced in the sources consulted, so no UK-vs-US precedence question arises and the US first is the sole collected first. One caution: HBJ records for the title show two closely related ISBNs (015190054X and 0151900558); the relationship between them is not resolved in the sources consulted and should not be presented as a binding or issue point until it is.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No specific book-club edition is documented in the sources consulted, and none should be asserted for this title. The operative reprint test is the copyright page: absence of the "First edition" line and the "BCDE" letter code means the copy is not a first printing, whatever the title-page date says. The usual club markers — a blindstamp or blind-embossed square on the rear board, an unpriced jacket, and lighter bulk than the trade issue — are generic to the period rather than documented for this book. Later Harcourt and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt trade paperbacks (e.g. ISBN 0156899825) are reprints.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of This House of Sky a first edition?

A first edition of This House of Sky by Ivan Doig (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich) is identified by: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1978, 314 pp (ISBN 015190054X); Doig's first book, a National Book Award finalist.

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. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York) 1978 is the true first, and the census is confirmed.

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

No specific book-club edition is documented in the sources consulted, and none should be asserted for this title. The operative reprint test is the copyright page: absence of the "First edition" line and the "BCDE" letter code means the copy is not a first printing, whatever the title-page date says. The usual club markers — a blindstamp or blind-embossed square on the rear board, an unpriced jacket, and lighter bulk than the trade issue — are generic to the period rather than documented for thi

I have a first edition of This House of Sky — 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.