Is My Visions of Cody a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First (partial) edition: New Directions, 1960, a limited signed edition of 750 numbered copies containing only excerpts
• The first COMPLETE edition is McGraw-Hill, 1972 (posthumous), with an introduction by Allen Ginsberg

How New Directions marked a first edition

• Modern paperbacks carry a descending number line; lowest digit (1) present indicates first printing.

Full New Directions first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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 1960 New Directions limited (750 copies, signed/numbered, excerpts only) is the true first appearance in book form but is incomplete. The 1972 McGraw-Hill is the first complete edition ('first thus'). Collectors distinguish the scarce signed 1960 limited from the 1972 trade first.P-012997

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book club. The key is the 1960 ND limited (partial, 750 signed copies) vs. the 1972 McGraw-Hill first complete edition — these are different texts, not mere reprints.P-012998

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Visions of Cody a first edition?

A first edition of Visions of Cody by Jack Kerouac (New Directions) is identified by: First (partial) edition: New Directions, 1960, a limited signed edition of 750 numbered copies containing only excerpts.

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. The 1960 New Directions limited (750 copies, signed/numbered, excerpts only) is the true first appearance in book form but is incomplete.

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

No book club. The key is the 1960 ND limited (partial, 750 signed copies) vs. the 1972 McGraw-Hill first complete edition — these are different texts, not mere reprints.

I have a first edition of Visions of Cody — 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.