Learn about First Editions

First Editions
What is a First Edition?
The very first time a book is published, anywhere, by anybody, the
volume produced is a First Edition. It's never been seen in print
before. First editions are highly prized by collectors, and if you
think the book you're selling is a first, it's always worth mentioning.
But how can you be sure, and what are the variations? To take the
second question first...
True First
There is a little wrinkle to confuse matters, and this is what's known
as impressions. When a book is printed the very first time, absolutely
no question, that's a true first. You will sometimes see this
represented by the numbers 1/1 in a description, The first 1 states
it's a first edition, the second 1 that it's a 1st impression -- or
true first.



What does this really mean?
As with all printing, the expensive bit of the process is setting up
the text etc for printing. Producing copies thereafter is the easy bit!
So, the first time something is printed, it's the first impression. If
the pulisher decides the book is selling well and wants to produce more
copies without making any changes to the set up or layout, they'll just
print a second impression. Another run of the identical book. So this
is 1/2 -- a first edition (because nothing's changed from the original
set up) but second imprssion (the second time it's been printed). Many
impressions can be made if a book proves popular. Twentieth or
thirtieth impressions are not uncommon. These will often be listed in
the printing history, either as impressions or reprints... same thing.



Many sellers will legitimately call this a first edition, but they
should always notify you that it's not a first impression, as the value
is changed by it's not being a true first. I never tick the "first" box
on my own database for later impressions, but I will sometimes mention
the fact that it's a first, albeit a later impression (number stated)
if I know true firsts are really hard to find and collectors might be
interested in later copies.

Believed First
If you're not sure if your edition is a first at all, but you genuinely
believe it probably is, you can legitmately describe this as "believed
first". It's a good idea to explain why you think it's a first, such as
no printing dates but looks the right age, for example. If you see this
description in an item you want to buy, it's basically telling you:
here's what I think but make