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How do those dealers manage to identify first without carrying around a copy of McBrides? What's the secret? The remarks below are what book dealers know
...even if they don't know that they know it. One can identify most firsts by process of elimination, and never need to carry around a guide. It does assume some
knowledge, but not much. And, there are exceptions to every single "rule":
1) Eliminate Bookclubs and Reprint Publishers. Since these are almost never first editions and they seem to be everywhere, one needs to eliminate them. All the
DJs without prices and all the books with a blindstamp in the lower right corner of the rear board are gone.
Same story with Reprint Publishers. No need to memorize a list, just gradually let it seep in that 99% of the books published by Grosset & Dunlap, Blue Ribbon,
Triangle, etc are reprints and cannot be firsts. As you hear about other Reprint Publishers, simply file them away in your head as producers of books that aren't
firsts.
2) Eliminate obvious later printings. Books that state "second printing" or later on the copyright page and books with numberlines that don't go down to "1" or
letter lines that don't go down to "A" are out the door. This wipes out a very large number of books because many, if not most publishers do indicate later
printings. They many not indicate what a first is, but they often go to the trouble of signifying 2nds, 3rds, etc. On some books they even state the (later) printing on
the dust jacket!
For older books, it is necessary to check for a date on the title page and compare it to the date on the copyright page. If they are the same, its a first, if they are
different its not a first.
3) Which one's are firsts? So, what's left? What's left is a much smaller group of books that might be first editions. Publishers who "state" that a book is a first do
so in a variety of ways. They might say "First edition" or "first printing" or "first published in month/year." Doesn't matter what form it takes, these are all firsts!
...or at least firsts of that edition.
Now, what's left is a few handfuls of books where there is nothing on the copyright page. There is no indication of whether the book is a first or not. To reduce
this pile a little bit, it is necessary to learn at least two publishers: Doubleday always states first. Scribners always uses the letter "A" under the copyright date line.
(Reiterating here that there are exceptions to every rule).
The number of books left now is really quite small. But, guess what. Each one has a 50% or better chance of being a first -- probably closer to 70-80% (as a
guess). So, buy it if its in nice condition and its cheap.
Disclaimer: All of the above is common sense and only requires a very small amount of knowledge. There are quite a large number of exceptions though to
everything above. You can reduce the number of "non-first" purchases by gradually learning the quirky practices of the thousands of publishers. But, even without
learning any more than the basics above, one can bring home first editions ninety per cent of the time or more.
with permission from P.S. Thomas Vintage Books
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