Is My Copy of Without Sorcery a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Sturgeon's first book; full title 'Without Sorcery: Thirteen Tales'
• Total printing reported as 2,862 copies
• The trade issue is bound in black cloth with the spine lettered in gilt; introduction by Ray Bradbury, illustrations by L. Robert Tschirky
• A deluxe issue was specially bound in burgundy cloth with gilt spine lettering, housed in a publisher's board slipcase, signed by Sturgeon and by Tschirky, and carries a holograph limitation statement inked by the publisher on the front pastedown
• SOURCES CONFLICT on that limitation and no figure should be asserted: examined copies record 'One of eighty copies specially bound and signed by the author and artist
• The Prime Press', while Currey (p. 473) records copies stating 'One of 88 copies on special paper specially bound', and Prime Press partner Oswald Train recalled 100 signed copies — read the statement on the copy in hand rather than relying on a published count

How Prime Press, Philadelphia marked a first edition

• First state identified by single print run and absence of later-printing notation; some titles issued in a signed/numbered limited state with a limitation statement
• Match original dust jacket and confirm title-page/copyright date agreement

Full Prime Press, Philadelphia 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. 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?

Prime Press (Philadelphia, 1948) is the true first edition — a US small-press original with no UK, foreign-language, or other predecessor, so only the US edition is collected. The signed/slipcased deluxe and the black-cloth trade issue are both first edition, differing by issue rather than by printing. One earlier Prime Press item is emphatically not this book: a promotional pamphlet printing the single story 'It' (about 200 copies, some distributed at the 1948 Worldcon) precedes the collection and is a separate item, not a state of it.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition of the Prime Press printing is documented. The recurring trap is the later paperback reissue titled 'Not Without Sorcery', an abridgement under a changed title that is routinely miscatalogued alongside the 1948 first — a 'first thus' at best. Any copy not bearing the Prime Press imprint is a later edition.P-043699

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Without Sorcery a first edition?

A first edition of Without Sorcery by Theodore Sturgeon (Prime Press, Philadelphia) is identified by: Sturgeon's first book; full title 'Without Sorcery: Thirteen Tales'.

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. Prime Press (Philadelphia, 1948) is the true first edition — a US small-press original with no UK, foreign-language, or other predecessor, so only the US edition is collected.

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

No book-club edition of the Prime Press printing is documented. The recurring trap is the later paperback reissue titled 'Not Without Sorcery', an abridgement under a changed title that is routinely miscatalogued alongside the 1948 first — a 'first thus' at best. Any copy not bearing the Prime Press imprint is a later edition.

I have a first edition of Without Sorcery — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.