Second Nature first edition cover, Grove Press 1991

First edition Paperback

Second Nature (1991)

Michael Pollan · Grove Press, New York, NY

Publisher Grove Press Year 1991 ISBN 9780802140111

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Market value

What decides the price

It is the first edition, which is the one collectors want.
Paperback firsts are usually modest unless they are paperback originals; later printings carry little premium.
Condition is graded separately for book and jacket, from Fine down to Poor.

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Sales record

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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.

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In short

Quick answer

Who published the Second Nature first edition?: Grove Press, New York, NY, in 1991, in paperback.

Publisher's practice

How Grove Press marked its first editions

Grove marks both first printings and later printings on the copyright page, so check there for any later-printing note.
Books from the later twentieth century onwards also carry a number row.
A number row counts printings: the lowest number left in the row gives the printing, so a row that still includes "1" points to a first printing.
Grove also coded reprinted jackets: a later jacket has a small letter code on the rear panel ("ii" for a second printing jacket, "iii" for a third), while a first-printing jacket has none.
Many Grove books are the first American edition of a work first published abroad (Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer, for example, dates from 1934 but Grove issued it in 1961), so a Grove first is not always the true first edition.
Book club copies (a general tell for US trade houses; no mark specific to this house was found): a jacket flap with no printed price is the commonest sign, though a printed price does not on its own rule out a club copy. Also look for a small blind stamp, such as a dot or square, pressed into the rear board, and for a book that is smaller and more cheaply made than the trade edition.

Read the full guide to Grove Press 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

1991

At a glance

Not yet researched

We have not yet confirmed the issue points that tell this first impression from later ones. Until we do, compare your copy's title page and copyright page with the publisher, place and year above: any later printing or edition statement means it is not this one.

Know the points? Tell us. We publish them, with credit, once a second source agrees.

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Questions collectors ask

Frequently asked questions

Who published the Second Nature first edition?

Grove Press, New York, NY, in 1991, in paperback.

Collecting guides

Know what you are looking at

All guides

12 min read

Book Club Editions: How to Spot a BCA or Book Club Copy

A book club edition is a copy printed for a mail-order club and sold to members, often looking almost identical …

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How to Identify a First Edition

To identify a first edition, check that your copy is the first printing of the first edition. Read the copyright …

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Book Condition Grading: Fine to Poor Explained

Book condition grading uses a six-step trade scale: Fine, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. Collectors grade the …

Read the guide →