Is My What Dreams May Come a First Edition?

The points of issue

• G. P. Putnam's Sons used no first-edition statement and no number line in 1978
• The first printing is identified by the 1978 date together with the ABSENCE of any impression line on the copyright page; later printings insert 'Second Impression' (third, fourth, etc.)
• Putnam did not adopt a number row until the mid-to-late 1980s
• Two independent publisher guides document this practice — Books Tell You Why (which places the no-statement era at 1960–1988) and Quill & Brush / qbbooks (which places the switch to a number row at 1985)
• Octavo, 304 pp
• Dealers report a blue spine with light blue lettering; that binding description is single-source and should be checked against a known copy

How G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York marked a first edition

• PRE-1928 (early independent house): Putnam printed NO first-edition statement. Identify a first by matching the copyright-page year to the title-page year with no reprint/later-printing notice on the copyright page. Afte…

Full G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York 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?

US first: G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1978 (published September 1978) — confirmed by multiple independent dealers including John W. Knott, Jr. (ABAA/ILAB), Robert Gavora Fine & Rare Books, Second Story Books, Magers and Quinn, and Falling Waters Booksellers. The census's 'UK Michael Joseph followed 1979' claim is CORRECTED: it is not confirmed. No Michael Joseph — or any other UK hardcover — first of this title appears in the dealer listings, trade records, or catalog entries consulted; the documented 1979 follow-on is the US Berkley paperback. Do not repeat the Michael Joseph attribution without a copy in hand.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club tells specific to this title were documented in the sources consulted. Because the Putnam first carries no statement, the jacket is the working discriminator: club copies of period Putnam titles characteristically carry no price at the front flap, often print 'Book Club Edition' at the base of that flap, and carry a blind-stamped impression on the lower rear board. The other reprint trap is the 1998 film — any jacket carrying tie-in or 'now a major motion picture' wording is 1998 or later. Gauntlet Press subsequently issued signed limited editions; those are plainly marked later printings, not firsts.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of What Dreams May Come a first edition?

A first edition of What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson (G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York) is identified by: Putnam's Sons used no first-edition statement and no number line in 1978.

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). US first: G.

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

No book-club tells specific to this title were documented in the sources consulted. Because the Putnam first carries no statement, the jacket is the working discriminator: club copies of period Putnam titles characteristically carry no price at the front flap, often print 'Book Club Edition' at the base of that flap, and carry a blind-stamped impression on the lower rear board. The other reprint trap is the 1998 film — any jacket carrying tie-in or 'now a major motion picture' wording is 1998 or

I have a first edition of What Dreams May Come — 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.