Is My Copy of Blackwater (I: The Flood through VI: Rain) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Six mass-market paperback originals issued monthly by Avon across the first half of 1983 — I: The Flood (January), II: The Levee (February), III: The House (March), IV: The War (April), V: The Fortune (May), VI: Rain (June)
• Wrappers only; no hardcover and no dust jacket, so there is no jacket point
• Cover art for all six is by Wayne Barlowe (confirmed in his ISFDB bibliography); each volume carries its own Avon book number, and volumes run roughly 170-200 pp. The collected unit is all six in matching first printings — the set is far harder to assemble than any single volume, and V: The Fortune and VI: Rain are the usual stumbling blocks
• First-printing identification is by the Avon copyright page: expect a 'First Avon Printing, [Month], 1983' line with a number line whose lowest digit is 1
• Verify on the copy in hand: Avon copyright pages are sparse, Avon has no entry in the standard publisher-identification guides, and dealers routinely assert 'first printing' for these without quoting the statement

How Avon Books, New York marked a first edition

• Mass-market paperback originals: copyright page shows 'First Avon … Printing (Month Year)' / 'First Edition'; a true first lists ONLY the first printing.
• Number line where present: lowest number 1 indicates first printing.

Full Avon Books, New York first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

US precedence, uncontested: the Avon paperback originals of January-June 1983 are the first appearance of the text, with no UK edition and no hardcover preceding them. The most important 'first thus' trap is Avon's own: Avon collected volumes I-III and IV-VI into two omnibus paperbacks in 1983, immediately after the serial run, and those omnibuses are frequently offered as 'Blackwater first edition 1983' — they are not the first appearance. Valancourt Books issued the first-ever one-volume edition in 2017; it too is 'first thus.'P-037905

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented for the 1983 paperback originals. The reprint states to watch are the two 1983 Avon three-in-one omnibus volumes (I-III and IV-VI), the later two-volume 'Blackwater Saga' gatherings, and the Valancourt 2017 single-volume edition — none of these is the first appearance despite the 1983 date on the Avon omnibuses. Later Avon printings of the individual volumes are separated from firsts by their copyright-page printing statement.P-037906

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Blackwater (I: The Flood through VI: Rain) a first edition?

A first edition of Blackwater (I: The Flood through VI: Rain) by Michael McDowell (Avon Books, New York) is identified by: Six mass-market paperback originals issued monthly by Avon across the first half of 1983 — I: The Flood (January), II: The Levee (February), III: The House (March), IV: The War (April), V: The Fortune (May), VI: Rain (June).

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). US precedence, uncontested: the Avon paperback originals of January-June 1983 are the first appearance of the text, with no UK edition and no hardcover preceding them.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club edition is documented for the 1983 paperback originals. The reprint states to watch are the two 1983 Avon three-in-one omnibus volumes (I-III and IV-VI), the later two-volume 'Blackwater Saga' gatherings, and the Valancourt 2017 single-volume edition — none of these is the first appearance despite the 1983 date on the Avon omnibuses. Later Avon printings of the individual volumes are separated from firsts by their copyright-page printing statement.

I have a first edition of Blackwater (I: The Flood through VI: Rain) — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.