Is My Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Doubleday, New York, published 18 August 1997, ISBN 0-385-48451-8
• The copyright page states "First Edition" AND carries a complete number line with the 1 present — both must be there
• Doubleday drops the edition statement on later printings while the number line advances, and dealers continue to list such copies as "the printed pricet edition, 2nd printing" (and 5th, 8th, 9th printings are all in the trade), so a "first edition" tag alone proves nothing
• Bound in half cream cloth over beige patterned boards; dealer collations vary between roughly 192 and 224 pages, with line-drawn vignettes at the chapter headings and a black-and-white photograph at the rear
• Priced jacket / price present at the flap, unclipped
• No first-state text error, binding variant or jacket variant is documented for this title

How Doubleday marked a first edition

• c.1990s–present: uses a descending number row; presence of 1 indicates first printing. Throughout: any mention of later printings means it is NOT a first.

Full Doubleday 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 Doubleday edition (New York, 18 August 1997) is the true first edition. The UK first followed from Little, Brown, London, in 1998 (Amazon UK records a 12 April 1998 issue) and has no precedence; it is the collected British first, but only the Doubleday is the first edition. A further trap: the Hodder & Stoughton UK issue of 2001 is later still and is "first thus" only, despite being the UK edition most often encountered. One census claim is not supported and should not ship: the note that the Doubleday first printing was "small / pre-phenomenon" is plausible given the book's later Oprah-driven run through many printings, but no print-run figure is documented in any source consulted, and none should be quoted.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club copies of a 1997 Doubleday show the standard late-1990s tells: no price at the jacket flap (often "Book Club Edition" printed on the front flap instead), a small blindstamp — a dot, square, circle or similar — on the lower rear board, and thinner, lighter bulk with cheaper boards than the trade copy. Doubleday gutter codes do NOT apply and should not be looked for: that practice ran only from mid-1958 to mid-1987 and had been discontinued a decade before this book. The commoner trap is not a club copy but a Doubleday trade later printing — confirm that both the "First Edition" statement and the 1 in the number line are present.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson a first edition?

A first edition of Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom (Doubleday) is identified by: Doubleday, New York, published 18 August 1997, ISBN 0-385-48451-8 (9780385484510).

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 Doubleday edition (New York, 18 August 1997) is the true first edition.

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

Book-club copies of a 1997 Doubleday show the standard late-1990s tells: no price at the jacket flap (often "Book Club Edition" printed on the front flap instead), a small blindstamp — a dot, square, circle or similar — on the lower rear board, and thinner, lighter bulk with cheaper boards than the trade copy. Doubleday gutter codes do NOT apply and should not be looked for: that practice ran only from mid-1958 to mid-1987 and had been discontinued a decade before this book. The commoner trap is

I have a first edition of Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson — 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.