Northern Lights first edition cover, Scholastic 1995

Cover image from Open Library (openlibrary.org)

First edition Hardback

Northern Lights (1995)

Philip Pullman · Scholastic, London · Reviewed by Harriet Ellis, MyVolumes editor · Updated 18 Oct 2026

Publisher Scholastic Year 1995 ISBN 9780590541787

Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 18 Oct 2026.

I own this Add by ISBN
Number lineComplete line including 1
Jacket price£12.99
Points of issue7 to checkCheck my copy
Market value

What decides the price

  • It is the first edition, which is the one collectors want.
  • The first printing is told from later ones by 7 points of issue listed below.
  • The original dust jacket carries much of the price for a book of this age; its condition matters as much as the book's.
  • Condition is graded separately for book and jacket, from Fine down to Poor.
Recorded sales
1

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Price history

1 recorded sale

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In short

Quick answer

Key takeaways
PublishedScholastic, London, 1995
Spot itCopyright page: Number line includes 1
Also checkJacket, flap: Priced £12.99
BindingHardback, jacket priced £12.99
How do I identify a Northern Lights first edition?
Check these points. Copyright page: Number line includes 1. Jacket, flap: Priced £12.99. Jacket, spine: POINT at the foot of the spine. Each point is confirmed by at least two independent sources.
Who published the Northern Lights first edition?
Scholastic, London, in 1995, in hardback.
Identification

How to identify this edition

Scholastic published Northern Lights, the first volume of His Dark Materials, in 1995 in a small hardback printing. A first impression has a number line on the copyright page that includes 1, and its jacket shows the first issue details.

What to check:

  • Number line: must include 1. A line beginning 4 6 8 or ending 5 3 is a later impression.
  • Jacket price: £12.99 on the flap. A higher price indicates a later jacket.
  • Jacket spine: the word POINT at the foot of the spine.
  • Rear flap: the publisher's address at 7-9 Pratt Street.
  • ISBN: 0 590 54178 1.

Later impressions are often put into first issue jackets, so check the number line in the book as well as the jacket. Carnegie Medal stickers appear on some jackets and do not identify the printing either way.

The American first, published by Knopf as The Golden Compass, is a different book with different values. Proof copies and the paperback are collected separately.

Sources disagree about the size of the first printing, but all agree it was small for a book that became so popular, and a fine first impression in a fine jacket is genuinely scarce.

Sources: John Atkinson Books, Cheltenham Rare Books, PBFA and Open Library.

Publisher's practice

How Scholastic marked its first editions

Scholastic's US hardcovers carry a dated edition statement on the copyright page and a number line; a first printing keeps the 1 in that line.

United States

Read the full guide to Scholastic 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.

Printing by printing

Printings and states

First impression

1995

At a glance

Number line
Complete line including 1
Jacket price
£12.99

Points of issue

  • copyright pageNumber line includes 1→ first impression
  • jacket, flapPriced £12.99→ first issue jacket
  • jacket, spinePOINT at the foot of the spine→ first issue jacket
  • jacket, rear flapPublisher's address at 7-9 Pratt Street→ first issue jacket
  • dust jacketpublisher's address is given as Pratt Street→ first state jacket
  • Dust jacket, foot of spineimprint printed as POINT→ first issue jacket
  • Dust jacket, lower (rear) flappublisher's Pratt Street address given as 7-9→ first issue jacket
Check my copy Answer for each point and we will tell you whether yours is the first impression.
  1. Copyright page: Number line includes 1
  2. Jacket, flap: Priced £12.99
  3. Jacket, spine: POINT at the foot of the spine
  4. Jacket, rear flap: Publisher's address at 7-9 Pratt Street
  5. Dust jacket: publisher's address is given as Pratt Street
  6. Dust jacket, foot of spine: imprint printed as POINT
  7. Dust jacket, lower (rear) flap: publisher's Pratt Street address given as 7-9

Has a number line? Read it with the number line decoder.

Watch out for: traps and later printings

Later impressions are often married to first issue jackets. The American Knopf edition is titled The Golden Compass.

Check for a book club edition · Read a number line

I own this: add to my collection Want this
Questions collectors ask

Frequently asked questions

How do I identify a Northern Lights first edition?

Check these points. Copyright page: Number line includes 1. Jacket, flap: Priced £12.99. Jacket, spine: POINT at the foot of the spine. Each point is confirmed by at least two independent sources.

Who published the Northern Lights first edition?

Scholastic, London, in 1995, in hardback.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 18 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.

Related

More first editions by Philip Pullman

The Ruby in the SmokeOxford University Press, 1985The Shadow in the PlateOxford Univ Pr (Sd), 1986Spring-Heeled JackDoubleday, 1989The Tiger in the WellKnopf, 1990The Tin PrincessPuffin, 1994 · no. 4The Firework-maker's DaughterDoubleday, 1995
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