Is My Trunk Music a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Little, Brown and Company, Boston, published 1997. 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page with a complete descending number line reading to 1
• ISBN 0-316-15244-7
• Hardcover of 383 pages issued in the publisher's dust jacket bearing the printed price on the front flap (present, unclipped, on a first-state copy)
• First printing of the fifth Harry Bosch novel; a signed advance/uncorrected proof also exists and precedes the trade issue

How Little, Brown marked a first edition

• Number line (late 1970s–present)

Full Little, Brown 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?

The US Little, Brown edition is the true first edition; fifth Harry Bosch novel. A separate advance reader's/uncorrected proof softcover preceded publication and is the earliest printed state for collectors of proofs.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club editions lack the number line and carry an unpriced jacket; they typically show a small blindstamped dot on the rear board and a slightly reduced trim size versus the Little, Brown trade first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Trunk Music a first edition?

A first edition of Trunk Music by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown) is identified by: Little, Brown and Company, Boston, published 1997.

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). The US Little, Brown edition is the true first edition; fifth Harry Bosch novel.

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

Book-club editions lack the number line and carry an unpriced jacket; they typically show a small blindstamped dot on the rear board and a slightly reduced trim size versus the Little, Brown trade first.

I have a first edition of Trunk Music — what should I do?

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 lost. To sell, see the author’s collecting guide. Either way, nothing collectible ends up in a landfill.

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.