Is My Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first printing: McGraw-Hill, New York, 1964, collating vii + 359 pp., in original white cloth with a black spine label lettered white (title) and gilt (author and publisher)
• The jacket is a multicolour pictorial design (attributed to Abner Graboff) and is priced at the flap
• No distinct textual first-issue point is documented for this title; identification of the first printing rests on the 1964 imprint carrying NO statement of a later printing on the copyright page (later printings are so noted) together with the priced first-state jacket
• Physical points confirmed against two independent dealer descriptions (Between the Covers ABAA and others)

How McGraw-Hill Book Company marked a first edition

• From 1956 onward: adopted a consistent 'First Edition' statement on the COPYRIGHT PAGE and noted subsequent printings.

Full McGraw-Hill Book Company 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?

US true first: McGraw-Hill, New York, 1964. A London edition (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1964) follows the same year and is also collected, but the McGraw-Hill printing is the first. Much-later MIT Press editions are reprints, not first-edition issues. Census note is correct.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No prominent book-club edition. Because later McGraw-Hill printings appeared under the same 1964 date, rely on the copyright-page printing statement (absent on the first) and the priced first-state pictorial jacket to separate first from subsequent printings.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man a first edition?

A first edition of Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhan (McGraw-Hill Book Company) is identified by: First edition, first printing: McGraw-Hill, New York, 1964, collating vii + 359 pp., in original white cloth with a black spine label lettered white (title) and gilt (author and publisher).

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. US true first: McGraw-Hill, New York, 1964.

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

No prominent book-club edition. Because later McGraw-Hill printings appeared under the same 1964 date, rely on the copyright-page printing statement (absent on the first) and the priced first-state pictorial jacket to separate first from subsequent printings.

I have a first edition of Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man — 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.