Publishers

How publishers mark their first editions

Every publisher had its own way of marking a first edition: a statement, a number line, a letter, or nothing at all. Here are the 111 houses we have researched, A to Z, with the rule that matters most. Open any one for the full guide.

A

Ace Books United States
Aladdin
Allen & Unwin Australia: - First-impression jackets of The Hobbit (1937) carry a hand correction on the rear flap, where the misspelling "Dodgeson" (for Dodgson, Lewis Carroll's real name) was amended in ink by the publishers.
Armada
Atheneum United States
Atheneum Books for Young Readers United States

B

BCA: BCA books are book club editions produced under licence from the trade publisher, so they are distinct from that publisher's own first edition.
Ballantine Books United States
Bantam Books United States: - Where a printing line appears on the copyright page, the lowest number shows the printing, whatever order the numbers run in; a line with a 1 normally indicates a first printing.
Blackie: - Blackie usually printed the following year's date on the title page of its Henty first editions, so a Henty first was normally issued in the year before the date it shows; Held Fast for England , for example, came out on 1 August 1891 with 1892 on the title
Bloomsbury Publishing United Kingdom: - A first impression of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) has 1997 as the only date on the copyright page and a full number line running down to 1 ("10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1").
Bobbs-Merrill United States: - Before about 1936 Bobbs-Merrill had no consistent method.
Bodley Head United Kingdom
Bound to Stay Bound Books: - A Bound to Stay Bound copy is another publisher's new book given a reinforced library binding by the Jacksonville bindery for school and public library use, not the original publisher's trade binding.

C

Cassell United Kingdom
Chapman and Hall United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: - Decline and Fall (1928), first issue: the name "Martin Gaythorn-Brodie" (also spelled Gaythorne-Brodie) appears on page 168 and "Kevin Saunderson" on page 169.
Charnwood
Chatto & Windus United Kingdom: - Chatto & Windus did not use a special mark for first editions: it told H.
Clarendon Press United Kingdom
Collins United Kingdom: - Collins did not adopt any special method of marking first editions or first impressions, according to its statements to H.
Constable United Kingdom
Corgi United Kingdom
Coronet
Crowell United States
Crown: - Before the 1970s Crown carried no first-edition statement but numbered or noted later printings on the copyright page, so a pre-1970s Crown book with no printing note is normally a first printing.

D

DAW Books United States
Del Rey United States
Delacorte Press
Dial Books for Young Readers
Dial Press United States
Dodd, Mead United States: - Before 1976 Dodd, Mead did not state first editions.
Doubleday United Kingdom US guide: - Doubleday, Doubleday, Doran and Doubleday & Co.
Dutton United States: - Mid-twentieth-century Dutton first printings carry the words "First Edition" on the copyright page.

E

Ernest Benn: - From the start of its book publishing, Benn usually marked a first edition with a "First published in" line and the year on the back of the title page.
Eyre & Spottiswoode United Kingdom: - On first editions Eyre & Spottiswoode put the year of publication either under its name at the foot of the title page or in a "first published" statement on the back of the title page.

F

Farrar, Straus and Giroux United States US guide: - Farrar, Straus and Giroux first editions carry a statement such as "First published" or "First edition" on the copyright page, often with the year.
Fawcett United States
Fourth Estate
Frederick Warne: - Some early Beatrix Potter first editions from Warne carry the year of publication on the title page, for example 1903 on the first trade edition of The Tailor of Gloucester and 1905 on The Pie and the Patty-Pan .

G

G.P. Putnam's Sons United States US guide: - For most of its history Putnam printed no first-edition statement: in 1947 the firm said it did not normally mark first editions on the back of the title page, and dealers confirm that older Putnam first editions carry no statement.
Golden Press: - For Little Golden Books from 1947 to 1970, the printing is shown by a single letter in the lower right corner of the last page, near the spine: "A" is the first printing, "B" the second, and so on.
Greenwillow Books
Grosset & Dunlap United States: - A Grosset & Dunlap edition of a book first issued by another publisher is a reprint, not a first edition; most of the firm's general list consists of such reprints.
Grove Press United States: - Grove marks both first printings and later printings on the copyright page, so check there for any later-printing note.
Guild Publishing: Guild Publishing books are book club editions, not trade first editions, so they matter mainly as copies to rule out.

H

Hamish Hamilton: - The 1951 first UK edition of The Catcher in the Rye is bound in blue cloth lettered in silver, and its pictorial jacket was designed by Fritz Wegner.
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich United States
Harcourt, Brace: - From the early 1930s Harcourt, Brace printed "First edition" on the copyright page of first printings, or "First American edition" for books first published abroad, and normally dropped the statement from later printings.
Harcourt, Brace & World United States: - During the Harcourt, Brace & World years (1960 to 1970) the copyright page of a first printing reads "first edition", or "first American edition" for a book that first appeared abroad.
Harlequin Canada
Harlequin Mills & Boon
Harmony Books United States
Harper United States: - From 1912 Harper & Brothers printed a two-letter code below the copyright notice giving the month and year of printing: the first letter is the month (A for January to M for December, skipping J) and the second is the year, starting with M for 1912.
Harper & Brothers United States: Harper printed a two-letter code on the copyright page from 1912 until 1968.
Harper & Row United States: - Harper & Row was formed in 1962 when Harper & Brothers merged with Row, Peterson, and became HarperCollins in 1990.
HarperCollins United States: - Harper & Brothers marked first editions with the words "First Edition" on the copyright page, a custom the firm confirmed in 1947.
HarperTeen: - HarperCollins first printings normally carry a "First Edition" statement on the copyright page together with a number line; the lowest number in the line gives the printing, so a line containing "1" indicates a first printing.
Heinemann United Kingdom
Henry Holt United States: - This covers Henry Holt and Company and, from 1960 to 1985, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, the name used after the merger with Rinehart & Company and the John C.
Hodder Children's Books
Hogarth Press United Kingdom: - Hogarth Press first editions carry no first edition statement.
Houghton Mifflin: - For most of its history Houghton Mifflin put the year on the title page of a first printing and took it off for later printings, so a copy with no title-page date is not a first printing.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company United States
Hutchinson United Kingdom: - Hutchinson did not mark its first editions in any way, as it told H.

J

John Murray United Kingdom: - From at least the 1920s Murray printed "First Edition" on the reverse of the title page of new books, a practice it confirmed to H.
John Wiley & Sons Australia
Jonathan Cape United Kingdom: - UK first editions name Jonathan Cape on the title page and carry a "First Published" statement with the year on the reverse of the title page.

K

Knopf United States US guide: - Before about 1933 Knopf put no first edition statement on first printings; reprints were marked on the copyright page ("Second Printing", "Third Printing" and so on), so a copy with no printing note is the first.
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group: Knopf has printed a "First Edition" statement on the copyright page since about 1934, using "First American Edition" where the book had already been published abroad.

L

Lippincott United States: - From about 1925 Lippincott marked later printings (or impressions) on the copyright page, so a copy with no such note is likely a first printing.
Little, Brown United States US guide: - Before the 1930s Little, Brown generally did not mark its first editions.
Longman Kingdom of Great Britain
Longmans, Green Kingdom of Great Britain

M

Macmillan United Kingdom: - This guide covers only the American firm, The Macmillan Company of New York (later Macmillan Publishing Co.); the British Macmillan has its own practice.
Macmillan Children's Books United Kingdom: Macmillan has long marked its later printings: a reprint or new edition carries a note of its printing history on the back of the title page, so a copy with no such note is the place to start.
Margaret K. McElderry Books
McGraw-Hill United States: - Before about 1956 McGraw-Hill did not reliably print a first edition statement.
Methuen United Kingdom: - Methuen used a consistent system from 1905: a first edition carries "First Published in" with the year on the reverse of the title page, and each reprint adds a further line below it.
Michael Joseph
Mills & Boon United Kingdom

N

New American Library United States
New Directions United States: - In its early years New Directions was not consistent about stating a first edition or marking later printings, so the copyright page alone may not settle a copy.
New English Library United Kingdom
Norton United States: - Norton first editions carry the words "First Edition" on the copyright page.

P

Pan Books United Kingdom
Pan Macmillan United Kingdom
Pantheon Books United States: - Until 1964 Pantheon did not routinely state a first edition, but it did note later printings (for example "second printing") on the copyright page; a first printing from this period either says "First Printing" or carries no printing note.
Panther
Penguin Books United Kingdom: - The first 80 Penguins carry "The Bodley Head" on the front cover; from No.
Philomel Books United States
Picador United Kingdom: - Picador copyright pages carry a printer's number line, and the lowest number shows the impression: a first impression keeps the 1, while a line ending at 11, for example, is an eleventh printing.
Pocket Books United States

R

Random House United States US guide: - Random House marks the first printing with the words "First Edition" on the copyright page; the firm stated this policy in 1947.
Robert Hale United Kingdom: - Before 1958 a Robert Hale first edition either carries no statement or a line on the back of the title page giving the year of first publication; any reprints are added to that record, so a single date with no reprint lines indicates a first printing.
Routledge United Kingdom

S

Scholastic United States: - Modern Scholastic first printings carry a complete number line that includes a 1 on the copyright page; a dealer describes the 2008 first printing of The Hunger Games this way, and the 1 is dropped from later printings.
Scribner United States US guide: - From about 1930 Scribner marked first printings with a capital "A" on the copyright page, beneath the copyright notice, and removed it from second and later printings.
Secker & Warburg United Kingdom: - First-impression copies of Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) are bound in green cloth and are found in either a red or a green dust jacket.
Sidgwick & Jackson United Kingdom
Signet British Raj: - The first printing of King's Signet original Rage (1977, $1.50) carries a September 1977 first printing statement on the copyright page and the number line "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9".
Simon & Schuster United States US guide: - Up to the early 1950s Simon & Schuster put no first-edition statement in its books: a first printing has a clean copyright page, while later printings are noted there.
Smith, Elder United Kingdom: - The first edition of Jane Eyre (1847) is in three volumes with the title page reading "edited by Currer Bell" and the imprint of Smith, Elder and Co., London.
St. Martin's Griffin: Before the early 1980s St.
St. Martin's Press United States

V

Viking United States US guide: - Viking first printings carry no printing statement beyond the publication line, while later printings are recorded on the copyright page with their number or date, so any reprint note means a later printing.
Vintage Books United States

W

Ward, Lock United Kingdom: - In 1928 Ward, Lock told H.
Weidenfeld & Nicolson United Kingdom
Wiley Australia
William Collins: - Collins told H.
William Morrow United States

Before you rely on a rule

Publishers changed their practice over time, and imprints of the same group often followed different rules. Always read the whole copyright page, compare the title page date, and check the points for the book itself where we list them. Our guide to identifying a first edition covers the general method, and the number line decoder reads printer's keys.