Identifying First EditionsIdentifying first editions has gotten easier over the last 20 - 25 years. This is because ...
Before we go on, let's talk briefly about the other terms for a first edition. The term first edition refers to the first run of books from a printing press for a new book. A first printing is another way of saying a book is a first edition ... likewise first impression and first published are other terms you'll likely run into. So:
Back to our number lines and identifying first editions ... A number line may look like this:
Or this:
Various publishers may arrange the numbers in different orders ... but if the number line contains a "1" it is a first edition.
To help in identifying first editions ... Here is a list of publishers that use a number line to indicate the edition or printing: Publisher - Country Ace - US Athenium - US Atlantic Monthly Press - US Avon - US Ballantine - US Bantam - US Black Classics Press - US Bleak House - US Bloomsbury - US Carroll and Graf - US Crown - US Del Rey - US Delacorte - US Donald Fine - US Doubleday - US Faber and Faber - UK Harper & Row - US Harper Collins - US Harper Flamingo - US Henry Holt - US Hyperion - US Kensington - US Little,Brown - US Morrow - US Mysterious Press - US Ohio University Press - US Pantheon - US Paraclete Press - US Picador USA - US Pocket Books - US Putnam - US Pyr - US Riverhead Books - US Scribner - US Seven Stories Press - US Shaye Areheart - US Simon & Schuster - US Soho - US St. Martin's Press - US Thomas Dunne Books - US Ticknor & Fields - US Viking - US W W Norton - US Some of the above publishers will also have the words "First Edition", "First Printing" or "First Published" in addition to a number line ... usually above the number line. A number line that is missing a one and a two is a third edition - even if it has the words "First Edition" or "First Printing" above the number line. Pyr's number line goes from 1 to 5 on the right on a first edition. The line will have years indicated on the left side of the line: 10 09 08 07 (or similar depending on the year published. Publishers That Do Not Use a Number Line These publishers only have the words "First Edition", "First Printing" or "First Published without a number line ... somewhere on the copyright page: 
Dial Press - US Dutton - US Farrar, Straus, Giroux John Murray - UK Jonathan Cape - UK Knopf - US Orion - UK Exceptions For identifying first editions ... there always has to be exceptions to the rules. Two publishers have number lines that start with the number 2 ... and they are first editions! 
These publishers are: Random House - US To further complicate identifying first editions, Random House since 2002 uses a "1" in the number line to indicate a first edition ... look for the words "First Edition" to be sure - they drop this on the later editions. Villard - US Villard also has a number line that will start with a "2" for a first edition.
Letter Lines Harcourt Brace - US - has a letter line instead of a number line. An A indicates a first edition.
Finally, Voyager - UK - simply has the number 1 on the copyright page to indicate that it is a first edition. The list of publishers above are from books I have collected and may have omitted a few publishers. Please consult a book collecting book on first edition identification if you have any doubts about the edition.
Very Important - Identifying First Editions When Buying Online The above information assumes that you have the book in your hands and can examine the number line for a 1 or for the words "First Edition". When ordering on-line, there may not be a picture of the number line. If there is a description, it may state something like: First edition, first printing This is actually redundant but booksellers frequently use both terms to describe a first edition. If it says: First edition, second printing This means there is a "2" in the number line and it is not a true first edition. E-mail them and ask if you are not sure.
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