Modern First Editions

A modern first edition is the first printing of a book from the twentieth century onwards, in its first published form. For most titles that means the first impression of the first British edition, in its original dust jacket. The jacket often accounts for most of the value, so we treat book and jacket as separate things to grade and check.

Start here: Casino Royale and The Hobbit

Two books show the two problems every collector meets. Casino Royale (Jonathan Cape, 1953) is about the jacket: the first state has no Sunday Times review on the front flap, and only about 3,000 copies went out that way. The Hobbit (George Allen & Unwin, 1937) is about the book: the first impression has black and white plates only, while the second impression, also dated 1937, adds colour plates.

The titles we cover

Common traps

• Later impressions. Many later impressions look identical to the first and keep the original date. The copyright page, an impression statement, or a specific point such as the Hobbit's plates is what settles it.
• Married and facsimile jackets. Jackets move between books. A first impression in a later jacket, or in a modern facsimile jacket, is worth far less than one in its own jacket.
• Facsimile editions. Full facsimiles exist for the Fleming novels and for The Colour of Magic. Measure and compare before paying a first edition price.
• The wrong country. Dahl's Charlie and James were first published in America; the 1967 Allen & Unwin books are first UK editions. Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four also have American firsts, which are different books.
• Paperback originals. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was first published as a Pan paperback, so the hardback is not the first edition.

How we value

Every value on MyVolumes belongs to a specific printing and condition, with book and jacket graded separately from Fine to Poor. Each range shows its basis and when it was set. Ranges marked as estimates are working figures that we replace with evidence from recorded sales. Where dealers and bibliographies disagree, we say so on the edition page rather than pick a side.