First Edition Identification - "Points" make a difference in book value

First edition identification can sometimes be difficult as there is no standard between all publishers.  Many are thankfully moving to the use of a number line which helps us to determine which books are firsts. 

Unfortunately, one other complication exists and this is referred to as "points".  Points are minor differences within a first edition.  For example, a word may be misspelled and is not caught until several hundred or thousand books have been printed.  At this time, the error may be corrected.   

Decades ago this was done by resetting the type and then printing would be resumed.  The copies with the errors will be the more valuable copies as they were printed first! 

Today in the age of computers with spell checkers, spelling errors are much more rare than they were in the early part of the last century but they do show up.

Here are some other types of points:

• price differences on the dustjacket
• different colors of cloth boards
• changes to authors reviews or "blurbs" on the back of the dust jacket
• pictures or colors on the front dustjacket are different
• added printing or stickers on the front of the dustjacket
• ISBN numbers on the back of the dustjacket are different

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If the dustjacket has been changed but the book is a first printing, the dustjacket is said to be a second state (or second issue) dustjacket.  An example of this is shown below with the two different dustjackets that have come out with The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski.


















The dustjacket on the left is the original first state dustjacket.  The dustjacket on the right has three points:  the words "New York Times Bestseller" at the top, the Oprah Winfrey Book Club Sticker on the lower right side and the ISBN number on the back is different. 

It's likely the sticker can be removed without damage to the dustjacket but the words at the top cannot be removed and the ISBN number can't be changed.  Many of the books are actual first printings (with ones in the number lines) that I examined.

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Last year I bought a second issue copy of Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.  I looked at the book in the store (Half-Price Books in Austin, Texas) and took notes of the condition and the known points of the book.  (I looked these up on ABE but there are books on first edition identification available listing the points of modern first editions such as this one.) 

It took me a while to decide on whether or not to buy the book.  With the issue differences and its condition it was difficult to pin down the value.  But I did go ahead and buy it.

Here are the differences between my copy and a true first issue edition:

	First Issue Points	Second Issue Points
correction-page 9	pendula	loosely
page number	bullet between 8s on page 88	no bullet between 8s on page 88
price	$2.00 on dustjacket	$2.50? (my copy is price clipped)
on copyright page	Printed in the United States of America by J. J. Little and Ives Company, New York	Printed in the United States of America by the Haddon Craftsmen, inc.

 

These differences account for $1000 to $2000 in the value of the first issue vs. the second issue.  Making an error here can amount to hundreds of dollars.  So it is best to use a professional book dealer or consult references when buying older, rare books ... to insure proper first edition identification. 

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