First impression
1999At a glance
Points of issue
- copyright pageprinter credit to Biddles Ltd→ first impression
Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 26 Oct 2026.
Buy a copy: eBay
No sales recorded yet
We value a printing from verified sales of that exact printing, and none of the first impression has come to auction in our records so far. The chart and the value by condition appear here as soon as one does.
Pro members with this book on their wantlist are emailed when it sells under their price.
Secker & Warburg hardback of 1999 (ISBN 0-436-20489-4), published in July 1999 and about 220 pages, in black boards with gilt spine lettering and a pictorial jacket. Two dealers identify the first impression as the one printed by Biddles Ltd, whose credit appears on the copyright page. The novel won the 1999 Booker Prize; jackets carrying a Winner of the Booker Prize 1999 line on the front panel are described by a dealer as a second state, so a copy in that jacket may still be a first impression of the book.
Read the full guide to Secker & Warburg first editions, decade by decade, and check your copy's copyright page against it. Our number line decoder reads the printing from the row of numbers.
Check these points. Copyright page: printer credit to Biddles Ltd. Each point is confirmed by at least two independent sources.
Secker & Warburg, London, in 1999, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 26 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
For most books published since the 1920s, the original dust jacket carries a large share of the value, often most …
Read the guide →7 min readTo identify a first edition, check that your copy is the first printing of the first edition. Read the copyright …
Read the guide →6 min readBook condition grading uses a six-step trade scale: Fine, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. Collectors grade the …
Read the guide →