First Editions

[Mithadan]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wight
Posts: 143</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
A bit of advice from a non-expert. There is a rapidly developing market for first editions of JRRT's works. Even the Silm., UT, and HoME volumes seem to generate higher bids on the auction sites if they are listed as &quot;first editions&quot;. A word of warning. There are first editions and there are FIRST EDITIONS.

To a collector, a book is not a first edition if it is not also the first printing. To clarify, all of a particular book that are printed before an actual revision to the text occurs are &quot;first editions&quot;. However, the original type for a book wears out as the book is produced and the type is replaced, sometimes with errors, or, alternatively, errors are corrected without the edition changing. A true first printing is done with the original type (usually). A first edition may be printed over many printings over many years (the first edition of the Hobbit was printed for about 30 years even though it was revised around 1955 to change the story of Gollum offering the ring to Bilbo as a present to the current version). I think that the Sil. was printed as a first edition until last year (or maybe this year).

Different publishers indicate a first printing in different ways. Some just say first edition with nothing else until the printing changes. Others state &quot;first printing&quot;. A succesion of numbers is sometimes used to indicate the printing (&quot;11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2&quot; may be a second printing). However, some publishers add a letter when the printing exceeds 10 (&quot;C 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1&quot; might mean 31st printing). There is no international standard for showing what printing a book is, so if you decide you want to collect first editions of anything, you need to figure out how the publisher indicates a first printing. Otherwise, the &quot;first edition&quot; Silmarillion that you pay $30.00 for may turn out to have been printed in 1998.

--Mithadan--
"The Silmarils with living light
were kindled clear, and waxing bright
shone like stars that in the North
above the reek of earth leap forth." </p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://www.barrowdowns.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_profile&u=00000004>Mithadan </A> at: 10/3/00 10:19:21 am