How to identify a first printing
- PRIMARY tell is the DAW 'collector's number' (sequential book number), NOT a conventional number line — through June 1984 it sat inside the yellow logo box on the front cover/spine; from mid-1984 it was moved to the copyright page
- First printings carry a 'First Printing, <Month Year>' statement on the copyright page; absence of any later-printing notation plus the first-printing date confirms a first
- Cross-check the DAW book number against the title's known first-printing number; reprints reuse the same collector's number, so rely on the printing statement / price for state
Notable points & cautions
- Founded 1971 by Donald A. Wollheim — first mass-market house owned by and named after an individual; long famous for uniform bright-yellow spines (yellow-spine era ~1971–mid 1980s)
- Because most DAW titles were paperback originals, the 'first edition' IS the paperback — there is usually no prior hardcover
- DAW hardcover/club tie-ins and later Penguin-distributed printings carry different copyright-page language
- Now an imprint under Astra Publishing House (post-2022); historically distributed by NAL/Penguin
Imprints
First editions also appear under: DAW (no sub-imprints; named for Donald A. Wollheim). Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my DAW Books book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. PRIMARY tell is the DAW 'collector's number' (sequential book number), NOT a conventional number line — through June 1984 it sat inside the yellow logo box on the front cover/spine; from mid-1984 it was moved to the copyright page First printings carry a 'First Printing, <Month Year>' statement on the copyright page; absence of any later-printing notation plus the first-printing date confirms a first
Does DAW Books use a number line?
First printings carry a 'First Printing, <Month Year>' statement on the copyright page; absence of any later-printing notation plus the first-printing date confirms a first
Is a book-club edition a DAW Books first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Founded 1971 by Donald A. Wollheim — first mass-market house owned by and named after an individual; long famous for uniform bright-yellow spines (yellow-spine era ~1971–mid 1980s)
What era does this cover?
This covers DAW Books (1971–present). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.
DAW Books titles with documented first-edition points
Each link opens that title’s specific points of issue — the exact marks that separate a true first printing from a later one.
- Angel with the Sword (C.J. Cherryh, 1985)
- Downbelow Station (C. J. Cherryh, 1981)
- Fires of Azeroth (C.J. Cherryh, 1979)
- Foreigner (C.J. Cherryh, 1994)
- Gate of Ivrel (C.J. Cherryh, 1976)
- Inheritor (C.J. Cherryh, 1996)
- Invader (C.J. Cherryh, 1995)
- Merchanter's Luck (C.J. Cherryh, 1982)
- Port Eternity (C.J. Cherryh, 1982)
- Serpent's Reach (C.J. Cherryh, 1980)
- The Dreamstone (C.J. Cherryh, 1983)
- The Forbidden Tower (Marion Zimmer Bradley, 1977)
- The Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss, 2007)
- The Narrow Road Between Desires (expanded Bast novella) (Patrick Rothfuss, 2023)
- The Pride of Chanur (C.J. Cherryh, 1982)
- The Slow Regard of Silent Things (Kingkiller novella) (Patrick Rothfuss, 2014)
- The Tree of Swords and Jewels (C.J. Cherryh, 1983)
- The Wise Man's Fear (Kingkiller Chronicle 2) (Patrick Rothfuss, 2011)
- The Witling (Vernor Vinge, 1976)
- Wave Without a Shore (C.J. Cherryh, 1981)
- We Can Build You (Philip K. Dick, 1972)
- Well of Shiuan (C.J. Cherryh, 1978)