How to Identify a Harmony Books First Edition

How to identify a first printing

• For titles from roughly the early 1980s onward, Crown/Harmony first printings are identified by a 'First Edition' statement on the copyright page together with a number line ending in 1; later printings drop the lowest digits.
• For 1970s Harmony titles, do not assume the 'First Edition' statement: Crown only adopted the stated-first-edition-plus-number-line practice in the late 1970s to early 1980s. Earlier Crown-group books often used a colophon and noted reprints there, so absence of a reprint notice plus matching copyright year is the safer first-printing signal for that era.

Notable points & cautions

• Crown Publishing Group lifestyle, wellness, self-improvement and cookery imprint, founded 1972 by Crown executive Bruce Harris.
• Modern identification inherits the standard Crown 'First Edition' + number-line rule, but the rule only applies cleanly to titles from the early 1980s forward.

Imprints

First editions also appear under: Harmony. Each generally follows the house convention above.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my Harmony Books book is a first edition?

Check the copyright page. For titles from roughly the early 1980s onward, Crown/Harmony first printings are identified by a 'First Edition' statement on the copyright page together with a number line ending in 1; later printings drop the lowest digits. For 1970s Harmony titles, do not assume the 'First Edition' statement: Crown only adopted the stated-first-edition-plus-number-line practice in the late 1970s to early 1980s. Earlier Crown-group books often used a colophon and noted reprints there, so absence of a reprint notice plus matching copyright year is the safer first-printing signal for that era.

Does Harmony Books use a number line?

For 1970s Harmony titles, do not assume the 'First Edition' statement: Crown only adopted the stated-first-edition-plus-number-line practice in the late 1970s to early 1980s. Earlier Crown-group books often used a colophon and noted reprints there, so absence of a reprint notice plus matching copyright year is the safer first-printing signal for that era.

Is a book-club edition a Harmony Books first edition?

No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Crown Publishing Group lifestyle, wellness, self-improvement and cookery imprint, founded 1972 by Crown executive Bruce Harris.

What era does this cover?

This covers Harmony Books (1972-present (Crown imprint; Crown owned by Random House / now Penguin Random House since 1988)). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.