Is My Way Up High signed/numbered limited a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Donald M. Grant, Publisher, 1992, illustrated by Vaughn Bodé. The signed/numbered limited was issued as part of a two-volume slipcased set pairing Way Up High with Here There Be Dragons, limited to 1,000 numbered copies with each volume individually signed by Roger Zelazny
• The true limited is identified by the hand-numbered limitation and Zelazny's signature; the volumes are cloth-bound with dust jackets and housed together in a single publisher's slipcase
• A separate unsigned trade edition of Way Up High was also published, so the presence of the numbered limitation statement and the signature is what distinguishes the limited

How Donald M. Grant marked a first edition

• Trade firsts: confirm 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page where present, with no later-printing notice; verify the illustrator plates and binding/slipcase match the issued state

Full Donald M. Grant 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?

First edition thus, published 1992 by Donald M. Grant after the long-delayed release of text Zelazny had written years earlier; the signed/numbered slipcased set is the limited issue of this first publication.P-028315

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

There is no book-club edition of this small-press title. The distinction to watch is the signed/numbered slipcased limited (1,000 copies, signed) versus the unsigned trade edition; only the numbered, signed copies are the limited.P-028316

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Way Up High signed/numbered limited a first edition?

A first edition of Way Up High signed/numbered limited by Roger Zelazny (Donald M. Grant) is identified by: Grant, Publisher, 1992, illustrated by Vaughn Bodé.

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. First edition thus, published 1992 by Donald M.

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

There is no book-club edition of this small-press title. The distinction to watch is the signed/numbered slipcased limited (1,000 copies, signed) versus the unsigned trade edition; only the numbered, signed copies are the limited.

I have a first edition of Way Up High signed/numbered limited — 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.