Is My Where Eagles Dare a First Edition?

The points of issue

• As with all Collins books of this period, the first impression is identified negatively — the correct year on the title page and no reprint or impression statement on the verso, per two independent guides (ILAB and Evening Land Books)
• That Collins did state later impressions is confirmed in the trade: Adrian Harrington Rare Books catalogues a copy expressly as "FIRST EDITION, second impression", so the absence of such a line is the point, and there is no number line
• The Collins issue collates 255 pp
• (some dealers give 256) and is bound in green cloth with gilt titles to the spine — one dealer instead describes silver spine lettering, an unresolved minor conflict — in a pictorial dust jacket designed by Ian Robertson; the jacket should be a priced jacket with the price present at the flap
• Collins went through several impressions, so many copies offered as firsts are not
• The Doubleday first printing is a different book: "First Edition" stated on the copyright page, 312 pp., black cloth with white spine lettering, red-orange pastedowns, priced jacket — note that these black-cloth and red-endpaper descriptions are frequently misattributed to the Collins issue

How Collins marked a first edition

• First editions either carry NO additional printing statement on the copyright page or state "First published [Year]" — practice was not fully consistent, so confirm with jacket/ad dating
• Later printings noted with impression lines; their absence supports a first

Full Collins 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 UK 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?

UK precedes US and is the true first: Collins, London, 1967. The US first is Doubleday & Company, Garden City, NY, 1967, and is collected as the American first. MacLean was a Collins author from HMS Ulysses (1955) onward and the Collins issue is the trade's accepted true first. The novel was MacLean's own novelization of his screenplay, so the 1968 film postdates the book. "First thus" traps: the Collins Fontana paperback (1968, 219 pp.) and the Fawcett Crest paperback (1968, 207 pp.) are reprints, as are the film tie-in issues.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

UK book-club reprints substitute the club's imprint (Companion Book Club, The Reprint Society/World Books) for Collins on the spine, title page and jacket and carry unpriced jackets. American Doubleday book-club printings omit the "First Edition" statement, carry a blind-stamped device on the lower rear board, are bulked on lighter paper, and have unpriced jackets.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Where Eagles Dare a first edition?

A first edition of Where Eagles Dare by Alistair MacLean (Collins) is identified by: As with all Collins books of this period, the first impression is identified negatively — the correct year on the title page and no reprint or impression statement on the verso, per two independent guides (ILAB and Evening Land Books).

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). UK precedes US and is the true first: Collins, London, 1967.

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

UK book-club reprints substitute the club's imprint (Companion Book Club, The Reprint Society/World Books) for Collins on the spine, title page and jacket and carry unpriced jackets. American Doubleday book-club printings omit the "First Edition" statement, carry a blind-stamped device on the lower rear board, are bulked on lighter paper, and have unpriced jackets.

I have a first edition of Where Eagles Dare — 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.