How to identify a first printing
- 1946-c.1965: founded in 1946 by William H. Freeman (a former Macmillan editor) in San Francisco, with Linus Pauling as first author and advisor. Early scientific monographs and textbooks carried no first-printing statement, so a first printing is identified by the ABSENCE of any later-printing or impression notice on the copyright page; later printings are explicitly noted (for example 'Second printing, 1958').
- c.1965-c.1980: transitional period. Some titles begin showing a printing-history line or a coded letter/number group; the first printing is the one with no later printing stated, or the printing code resolving to the first. Edition statements ('Second Edition') reliably appear on revised textbooks.
- c.1980-present: number line on the copyright page; the lowest digit present indicates the printing. Many texts also carry a coded year cluster. For revised STM textbooks the title-page edition number (1st, 2nd, 3rd ed.) is the primary identification unit, not a first-printing point.
- Scientific American Library series (1980s-2000s): collectible numbered series volumes whose first printings follow the contemporary Freeman number-line convention.
Notable points & cautions
- Pauling's 'General Chemistry' (1947) was the firm's inaugural title and an early landmark.
- Acquired by Scientific American in 1964 and brought under Holtzbrinck ownership in 1986 (via Scientific American); now an imprint under the Macmillan Learning / Holtzbrinck lineage.
- Book-club editions: for the Scientific American Library, watch for an absent price or club gutter codes; true firsts retain a priced jacket and the number line.
Imprints
First editions also appear under: W. H. Freeman, Scientific American Books, Scientific American Library, Worth Publishers (sister house, distributed), Spektrum (UK academic imprint, 1990s). Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my W. H. Freeman and Company book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. 1946-c.1965: founded in 1946 by William H. Freeman (a former Macmillan editor) in San Francisco, with Linus Pauling as first author and advisor. Early scientific monographs and textbooks carried no first-printing statement, so a first printing is identified by the ABSENCE of any later-printing or impression notice on the copyright page; later printings are explicitly noted (for example 'Second printing, 1958'). c.1965-c.1980: transitional period. Some titles begin showing a printing-history line or a coded letter/number group; the first printing is the one with no later printing stated, or the printing code resolving to the first. Edition statements ('Second Edition') reliably appear on revised textbooks.
Does W. H. Freeman and Company use a number line?
c.1965-c.1980: transitional period. Some titles begin showing a printing-history line or a coded letter/number group; the first printing is the one with no later printing stated, or the printing code resolving to the first. Edition statements ('Second Edition') reliably appear on revised textbooks.
Is a book-club edition a W. H. Freeman and Company first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Pauling's 'General Chemistry' (1947) was the firm's inaugural title and an early landmark.
What era does this cover?
This covers W. H. Freeman and Company (1946-present). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.