How to identify a first printing
- Read the copyright page for a printing statement first. Bradbury's usual first-printing tell across the 1970s and 1980s is an explicit statement such as 'First Printing' (or 'First edition' with no later-printing notice) rather than always a number line. On these titles a first printing carries that wording with no added later-printing line - e.g. 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret' (1970) and 'It's Not the End of the World' (1972) are identified by a stated 'First Printing' with no further printings listed.
- When a title uses a descending number line instead, confirm the line runs all the way down to 1 (…3 2 1). A complete line ending in 1 indicates a first printing; if the lowest number is 2 or higher it is a later printing. This is the reliable tell on many 1980s titles such as 'Hatchet' (1987, Bradbury Press, New York), which shows a full number line to 1 on the copyright page. Do not assume a number line on every book - some titles are identified only by the stated 'First Printing', so apply whichever test the copyright page actually uses.
- Cross-check the stated copyright year against the known first-publication year of the title (Margaret 1970, Hatchet 1987). A later copyright date, or an added later-printing statement/number line, rules out a first printing.
- For award-winning titles the FIRST-printing dust jacket predates the award and therefore lacks any printed award medallion or applied seal - a documented point on 'Hatchet', whose first-state jacket carries no Newbery Honor seal because the 1988 Honor came after the September 1987 publication. A printed or applied award seal signals a later jacket state or later printing.
- Confirm documented binding/publisher points where they exist - e.g. the 1970 first of 'Margaret' is in light blue cloth stamped in yellow, dust jacket by Eros Keith - and confirm the copyright-page imprint reads 'Bradbury Press' rather than a book-club or later-publisher imprint.
- Match the imprint string on the copyright page to the title's expected first-issue period. Pre-1981 firsts read simply 'Bradbury Press'; after the 1981 Macmillan acquisition the imprint may read 'Bradbury Press, an affiliate/imprint of Macmillan', and later reissues of the same title appear under Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, or Aladdin - none of which are the Bradbury first.
Notable points & cautions
- Do NOT confuse with the Victorian British firm 'Bradbury & Evans' (Bradbury and Evans, est. 1830; publishers of Dickens and Punch) - an entirely different, unrelated house.
- Book-club and school-market reprints are NOT first editions: watch for Weekly Reader Books editions and other club issues, which carry club branding, cheaper bindings, often no price on the jacket, and lack the trade first-printing points.
- Bradbury's first-printing practice is title-dependent rather than a clean era rule: most firsts show a stated 'First Printing', while other titles (including some 1970s and many 1980s books) use a complete number line to 1. Read the copyright page and apply whichever test that book uses instead of expecting a number line on every title.
- Place of publication shifted from Scarsdale, NY (early) to Englewood Cliffs, NJ (from the early 1970s), so the imprint location on the copyright page varies by year - useful for sanity-checking a stated date, not a defect.
- After the 1981 Macmillan acquisition the same titles were reissued under Macmillan, then (after Macmillan's 1994 sale) under Simon & Schuster / Aladdin; do not mistake a later-imprint reissue for the Bradbury first.
Imprints
First editions also appear under: Bradbury Press, Bradbury Press, Inc., Bradbury Press (an affiliate of Macmillan), Bradbury Press / Macmillan. Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my Bradbury Press book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. Read the copyright page for a printing statement first. Bradbury's usual first-printing tell across the 1970s and 1980s is an explicit statement such as 'First Printing' (or 'First edition' with no later-printing notice) rather than always a number line. On these titles a first printing carries that wording with no added later-printing line - e.g. 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret' (1970) and 'It's Not the End of the World' (1972) are identified by a stated 'First Printing' with no further printings listed. When a title uses a descending number line instead, confirm the line runs all the way down to 1 (…3 2 1). A complete line ending in 1 indicates a first printing; if the lowest number is 2 or higher it is a later printing. This is the reliable tell on many 1980s titles such as 'Hatchet' (1987, Bradbury Press, New York), which shows a full number line to 1 on the copyright page. Do not assume a number line on every book - some titles are identified only by the stated 'First Printing', so apply whichever test the copyright page actually uses.
Does Bradbury Press use a number line?
When a title uses a descending number line instead, confirm the line runs all the way down to 1 (…3 2 1). A complete line ending in 1 indicates a first printing; if the lowest number is 2 or higher it is a later printing. This is the reliable tell on many 1980s titles such as 'Hatchet' (1987, Bradbury Press, New York), which shows a full number line to 1 on the copyright page. Do not assume a number line on every book - some titles are identified only by the stated 'First Printing', so apply whichever test the copyright page actually uses.
Is a book-club edition a Bradbury Press first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Do NOT confuse with the Victorian British firm 'Bradbury & Evans' (Bradbury and Evans, est. 1830; publishers of Dickens and Punch) - an entirely different, unrelated house.
What era does this cover?
This covers Bradbury Press (founded 1968; independent to 1981, then a Macmillan imprint; folded into Simon & Schuster / Aladdin in the early 1990s). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.