how to determine if a book is a first edition
Identifying the First Edition of a Book. Identifying a first edition is no simple matter. There are thousands of publishers and they use a large variety of methods, which are often changed, to define first editions. The publisher may actually state the words âfirst editionâ or âfirst printingâ on the copyright page. Another common method of identification is the number line â thatâs a line of numbers on the copyright page. Usually, if a one is present in the line then itâs a first edition.