A Viking first printing usually carries a plain "First published in (year) by The Viking Press" statement on the copyright page, with no record of later printings.
How to read it
- The copyright page states when Viking first published the book, sometimes with the month, for example "First published ... September 1952" on Steinbeck's East of Eden.
- Later books add a printing number line; a first printing still has the 1 in it, whatever order the numbers run in.
Traps
- Book club jackets. Book club editions are often smaller and their jackets usually have no price on the front flap; such jackets are sometimes put on first editions to replace a lost original, so check the flap price.