Is My Witch World a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Paperback original, small octavo in pictorial wrappers, Ace catalog number F-197, 1963, with cover art by Jack Gaughan
• There is no statement of printing on the copyright page (so recorded by L.W. Currey), and no number line — identification therefore rests entirely on the F-197 catalog designation and the price printed on the front wrapper, both of which change on later Ace reprints issued under new catalog numbers
• Wrapper condition, spine roll and cover gloss are the operative physical points; there is no dust jacket on the true first

How Ace Books, Inc., New York marked a first edition

• Primary method (pre-1968): a first printing carries NO printing statement and NO later-printing line on the copyright page. Ace applied this inconsistently, so treat the absence of a printing notice as suggestive, not co…
• Price increases on later printings of the same/related serial number are a reliable later-STATE indicator. There is no well-documented, consistent Ace convention of an explicit 'First Ace printing: <Month Year>' statemen…

Full Ace Books, Inc., 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. 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.
3. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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 Ace paperback original is the true first, confirming the census claim; there is no earlier hardcover and no UK edition preceding it. The first hardcover is Gregg Press (Boston) 1977, issued as volume 1 of the seven-volume set The Witch World Novels of Andre Norton, in a first printing of about 1,200 sets sold largely to libraries — dealers correctly catalog it as "First Edition Thus," and it is a first-hardcover/first-thus trap, not the true first. Collectors seeking the true first must buy the wrappered Ace F-197.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club printing of the Ace paperback original is documented; mass-market paperback originals of this period were not club-issued. The Gregg Press 1977 hardcovers are library-market reprints of the Ace text and should not be mistaken for the first edition. Later Ace reprints of Witch World appear under different Ace catalog numbers and different wrapper prices, which is the reliable reprint tell in the absence of any printing statement.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Witch World a first edition?

A first edition of Witch World by Andre Norton (Alice Mary Norton) (Ace Books, Inc., New York) is identified by: Paperback original, small octavo in pictorial wrappers, Ace catalog number F-197, 1963, with cover art by Jack Gaughan.

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 Ace paperback original is the true first, confirming the census claim; there is no earlier hardcover and no UK edition preceding it.

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

No book-club printing of the Ace paperback original is documented; mass-market paperback originals of this period were not club-issued. The Gregg Press 1977 hardcovers are library-market reprints of the Ace text and should not be mistaken for the first edition. Later Ace reprints of Witch World appear under different Ace catalog numbers and different wrapper prices, which is the reliable reprint tell in the absence of any printing statement.

I have a first edition of Witch World — 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.