You're at an Antiquarian Book Dealer and spot a copy of an Andre Norton Book. Now what do you do? Do you buy it, even if you don't need it? Do you look at the price and decide that it's too expensive? Is it worth the money that's being asked? Is it a first edition or a later edition? What condition is it in?

To buy or not to buy, that is the question.

Let us break this down into sections:

• Is it a first edition?
• What condition is it in?
• What is the price? Is this book worth that price?

First a warning: I am going to try not to use book jargon while describing books. I will try to use words that explain where to look on a book. Some terms might creep in anyway. You will just have to use your generic book-collecting guide. If you don't have one of those visit your local library. I will also have to describe the information for books published in English. I will mostly describe books published in the United States. I have plans to make a list of 'points' that determine a first edition, and will try to have these published in these web pages. (Points being the things to look for in each specific title that make it a first edition.)


Is it a first edition?

What we call the First Edition of a book is the first time a book is printed. Plates are usually created with which to print the edition. Any later printing of that edition, even from the same plates, is no longer a First Edition.

Most modern books contain copyright information on the back of the title page. There are many variations on how publishers set this information. Primarily you should look for the magic words: FIRST EDITION. You should also look for a number sequence, if the number 1 is missing from the sequence then you are not looking at a first edition. An example of a number sequence is "1 2 3 4 5 73 72 71 70 69" (BERTIE AND MAY first edition). A later edition may also have the 69 removed leaving the 70, which indicates the year of that printing. Usually these later editions have removed the magic words, FIRST EDITION.

A notable exception to the second edition rules is SMALL SHADOWS CREEP, where the second printing was the same as the first except that the 'Second printing retained the "first edition" statement, but dropped the "1" from the number code on copyright page.'

Harcourt Brace books have an additional short code on the copyright page. This is a combination of year and edition: H.10.66 (STAR RANGERS). If you see one of these, you are probably not holding a first edition.

World Publishing, another publisher that Andre Norton used, usually has their code on all editions. Hence, #WP262, appears on the first edition of DEFIANT AGENTS.

Science Fiction Book Club, SFBC, books are harder to spot. They may retain the magic words: FIRST EDITION on the copyright page, but usually have several other clues to show that they are SFBC. Look for a small dimple, an indent, on the lower rear of the book cover. There is also usually a five digit number on the rear dust jacket. (Some modern non-SFBC books now have these numbers - but they will match the ISBN number. The ISBN number is the International code for publisher and printing.) The dust jacket will not have a price on the corners, and often has the words "Book Club" instead. These books are usually thinner than the first edition, and the pages are not usually cut smooth and even on the side. Some SFBC books have a code printed near the end of the book, usually between the last two signatures, or around page 190. [A book signature is the folded group of pages that are sewn into the binding of a book.] The easiest way to spot a SFBC is to know what color the boards of the book are bound in. If you have a book where the cover is covered with cloth, it is never a SFBC book.

Paper, first editions are often harder to determine. In the United States, these usually have both the date of the first printing, and the date of this printing. In the United Kingdom, this information is often omitted (or I just haven't figured it out yet). What I often use to determine the first paper edition; is a combination of knowing the publisher, and the ISBN number. In most cases the ISBN number gets larger for the later printings. Many of these also have a list of each of the printings and the date of each.

• THE BOOK OF ANDRE NORTON, where the first use of this title appeared in paper has: 'First printing, October 1975' and '1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9' inside. MERLIN'S MIRROR, is also a DAW book and has 'First printing, June 1975' and ' 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9' noted in the book.
  
  
• FORERUNNER has 'Tor Original' on the copyright page with the ISBN number. But even this is confusing, with two numbers; ISBN 0-523-41481-1 on the copyright page, and ISBN 523-48500-X on the cover.
  
  
• With Ace books, you have to know the numbers, though later editions have Ace numbers that match their ISBN numbers. One example is EYE OF THE MONSTER, where Ace #F147 (double) is the first edition, and #22375 is a later printing. HIGH SORCERY came out after Ace stopped using the letters and the editions are numbered #33700, #33701, #33702 and so forth.
  
  
• The first edition of GARAN THE ETERNAL was hard cover, but later came out in a paper edition. That DAW edition has a list of each of the printings, 1st through 10th printing, all in the first edition.
  
  
• DRAGON MAGIC was also originally in hard cover. Here the Ace editions are numbered in descending order. Ace #16647 came out in 1973, #16646 in 1975, and #16645 in 1981.
  

I won't try to list any more exceptions here. I do suggest that you purchase a copy of POCKET GUIDE TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF FIRST EDITIONS, by McBride. Most Antiquarian book dealers will have a copy of this for about $5 to $12. This lists what makes a first edition for all of the publishers in the English language. I have two copies, one of which I used to carry with me all of the time.

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