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FIRST EDITIONS
Do You Have a First Edition?
If you'd like to collect first editions of your favorite books, there are a few basic steps that can help you to build a nice collection.

Before you look up a book in a price guide or on the Internet, make sure that it's not a book club edition. Here are some characteristics of many book club editions:

• Smaller, lighter, noticeably cheaply made.
• Embossed or painted shape on the lower right rear corner.
• Plastic or paper cover rather than cloth.
• The acronym "BOMC" on the copyright page.
• No price on the front flap of the dust jacket.
• The words "Book Club Edition" on the front flap of dust jacket.
• No bar code (or there is a space at the upper right edge of the bar code where a price would normally be).
• Make sure the book isn't a reprint edition. Certain publishers print editions of books previously published by other publishers. Reprint publishers include Grosset & Dunlap, Tower and A.L. Burt. The copyright page of reprints will usually list the original publisher and publication date. Some reprints in dust jackets, including Modern Library and Grosset & Dunlap's Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Tarzan series, are collectible.

If you think you may have a first edition, you must understand that publishers use different means of denoting their first editions. Look on the copyright page (the other side of the title page). Here are some first edition indications to look for:

• The words "First Edition" or "First Printing";
• The words "First Published" with a month and/or year;
• Number or letter series, usually beginning with "1" or "A";
• Same date on the title page and the copyright page;
• No additional printings listed.
• Alas, there are many other ways. McBride's Pocket Guide to the Identification of First Editions is a nice, compact reference for various publishers' first edition styles.

If the book appears to be a first edition, distinguish between desirable and common first editions. Here are some basic guidelines:

• If the author is well-known, make sure the title is one of the earliest by that author.
• If it's signed and/or limited, it may have extra value.
• If you haven't heard of the author, but the book looks unusual and old, it may be worth looking up. (But it may just be unusual and old. Or just old.)
• Literary authors are often more collectible than popular authors.
• Books that have won a literary prize are generally collectible.

If your book is a collectible first edition, determine its condition. All of these flaws may decrease the value of a book or keep it from being collectible:

• No dust jacket.
• Faded, torn or chipped dust jacket.
• Water stains, mold (especially devaluing flaws).
• Loose binding.
• Highlighting, underlining, bookplate, owner inscription or other markings.
• Foxing (brown "age spots").

If you have an old, interesting book, first edition or not, whose value you're wondering about, check for special features that may make it collectible:

• Does the book have a fine or leather binding?
• Does it have illustrations, maps or charts?
• Is it signed by the author? (And is the author well-known?)
• Is it a limited or numbered edition?
• Are there special interest groups—fan clubs, hobbyists, cult groups—that are interested in this book?