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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 67 houses we have researched, A to Z, with the rule that matters most. Open any one for the full guide.

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67 publishers
UK and US

A

Ace Books United States
Atheneum United States
Atheneum Books for Young Readers United States
Atria Books United States: Atria only dates from 2002, so an Atria book with an earlier date is probably a later Atria reissue of an older title, or a data error; check the copyright page.
Avon Books United States: 1940s to 1960s - Avon was a paperback house.

B

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.
Beginner Books United States: - The Cat in the Hat first printings have the price "200/200" ($2.00) at the top right of the front jacket flap; the price was later cut to $1.95, so a lower flap price means a later printing.
Berkley United States: 1950s to 1970s - Berkley was chiefly a mass-market paperback house whose list mixed reprints of books that other firms had already published with paperback originals.
Bobbs-Merrill United States: - Before about 1936 Bobbs-Merrill had no consistent method.

C

Coward, McCann & Geoghegan United States
Crowell United States

D

DAW Books United States
Del Rey United States
Dell United States: 1940s to early 1950s - Dell's early numbered paperbacks were mostly cheap mass-market reprints of books first issued elsewhere, so a Dell of these years is normally a first Dell printing, not the first edition of the text.
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.
Dover Publications United States: Dover is chiefly a reprint house, so a Dover copy is rarely the first edition of the text itself.
Dutton United States: - Mid-twentieth-century Dutton first printings carry the words "First Edition" on the copyright page.

F

Farrar & Rinehart United States: - First printings carry the Farrar & Rinehart colophon, a device designed by Clarence P.
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
Fawcett Publications United States: - UNVERIFIED: Fawcett books use a number row on the copyright page to show the printing.

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.
Grand Central Publishing United States: Before 2007 this house was Warner Books, which grew out of a paperback publisher, so many copies are paperbacks and some reissue books first published by other houses.
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.

H

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich United States
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.
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.
Harper Collins United States: Before 1989 - Harper (New York) put the words "First Edition" on the copyright page of its firsts and took them off for later printings, a practice the firm described in 1928 and again in 1947.
HarperBusiness United States
HarperCollins United States US guide: - Harper & Brothers marked first editions with the words "First Edition" on the copyright page, a custom the firm confirmed in 1947.
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.
Holt, Rinehart and Winston United States: Before 1960 - Rinehart & Company, one of the three founding firms, marked first printings with its circled R colophon on the copyright page.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company United States

I

Independently Published United States: 2010s to 2020s - This is a self-publishing label, not a publisher with a first edition practice.

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.

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.

M

McGraw-Hill United States: - Before about 1956 McGraw-Hill did not reliably print a first edition statement.
Modern Library United States
Morrow United States: Morrow changed its method in 1973, so the publication year decides which rule applies.

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.
Norton United States: - Norton first editions carry the words "First Edition" on the copyright page.

P

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.
Penguin Random House United States: Before 2013 The group did not exist before July 2013, so an earlier book listed under this name really came from one of the houses that later joined it.
Philomel Books United States
Pocket Books United States
Prentice-Hall United States: What a collector should know first: most Prentice-Hall books are textbooks, whose numbered editions (second edition, third edition) are revisions rather than reprints and attract little collector interest.

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.
Rinehart United States: Rinehart & Company first printings carry the publisher's small "R" device, an R in a circle, on the copyright page; collectors of Norman Mailer use it to identify the first printing of The Naked and the Dead (1948).

S

Scholastic United States US guide: - 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.
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.
Sphere United States: 1960s to 1980s - Sphere Books was a paperback house.
St. Martin's Press United States

T

Tor United States: Before 1980 - The Tor list started in 1980, so a book credited to Tor with an earlier date is a reissue or a misdated record, never a Tor first edition.

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

Warner Books United States: Warner grew out of a paperback reprint house and published both paperbacks and hardbacks.
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.

Link to this tool

This page has a permanent address and is free for anyone to use or link to. To cite it: MyVolumes, First editions by publisher, https://myvolumes.com/first-editions/publishers/, accessed 26 October 2026.

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<a href="https://myvolumes.com/first-editions/publishers/">First editions by publisher (MyVolumes)</a>

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