Is My Copy of The Elementals a First Edition?

The points of issue

• A mass-market paperback original — there is no first hardcover, and the fragile Avon wrappers of September 1981 are the first and only original state
• ISBN 0-380-78360-6
• 302 pp. per the Open Library record; the Library of Congress Copyright Paperback Collection deposit copy (digitised by the Internet Archive) is dated 1981, Avon Books, New York
• Because it is a paperback original there is no dust jacket and no jacket point
• Identification of the first printing is by the copyright page: Avon's practice from the late 1970s onward was a 'First Avon Printing, [Month], [Year]' line together with a number line, so a first printing should read 'First Avon Printing, September, 1981' with 1 present as the lowest digit in the line, and a later printing carries a subsequent printing statement
• Verify this on the copy in hand: Avon copyright pages are notoriously sparse, and Avon has no entry in the standard publisher-identification guides (Quill & Brush, ILAB)

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: an American author writing for an American mass-market house, with no UK edition and no hardcover preceding the Avon paperback original of September 1981. 'First thus' traps: the Valancourt Books trade paperback of 2014 (with a new introduction by Michael Rowe) and the Centipede Press limited hardcover of 2020 are the first hardcover and first modern trade appearances respectively — both are reprints. The Fontana/Collins paperback (ISBN 0-00-616640-7) and the 1995 HarperCollins edition are later reprints, not the first.P-037897

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented for this title — mass-market paperback originals of this kind were not book-club vehicles. The states to watch are later Avon printings, which are distinguished by their copyright-page printing statement, and the modern revivals (Valancourt 2014 trade paperback, Centipede Press 2020 hardcover), which are 'first thus' and are the copies most often mistaken for a first by sellers because they are the only hardcover.P-037898

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Elementals a first edition?

A first edition of The Elementals by Michael McDowell (Avon Books, New York) is identified by: A mass-market paperback original — there is no first hardcover, and the fragile Avon wrappers of September 1981 are the first and only original state.

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: an American author writing for an American mass-market house, with no UK edition and no hardcover preceding the Avon paperback original of September 1981.

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

No book-club edition is documented for this title — mass-market paperback originals of this kind were not book-club vehicles. The states to watch are later Avon printings, which are distinguished by their copyright-page printing statement, and the modern revivals (Valancourt 2014 trade paperback, Centipede Press 2020 hardcover), which are 'first thus' and are the copies most often mistaken for a first by sellers because they are the only hardcover.

I have a first edition of The Elementals — 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.