FIRST EDITION VARIATIONS

A few days ago I was at a Barnes Noble bookstore, looking over their bargain books. On them I noticed a stack of perhaps a dozen hardcover copies of The Wrecker. Being on the bottom shelf, I could see clearly the bottom edge of all the books. From where I stood, I could make out that some had different colored cover boards. Usually the first edition will have consistently the same colored board while a later printing has another color—which is what I thought was the case. But as I examined them, I noticed that all of them were indeed first editions. So I was now looking at a variation which is significant to collectors. Since I didn’t know which one of the two I had in my collection, I would have to return later to get the one I lacked. Well, when I got home, I made a note of which one I had and went to a different Barnes Noble only because it was closer to my home. After I picked up The Wrecker variation that I didn’t have, I wandered through their bargain books and found a stack of Spartan Gold hardcovers. I looked through these and couldn’t believe it—they were all first editions with two different types of boards, just like The Wrecker. So I bought the one I was missing of that title. The following is what I already had and what I ended up adding to my collection. For The Wrecker, it had dark blue headband/tailbands, dark blue paper-covered boards, the spine is dark green paper, and the printing on the spine is silver. The one I purchased has orange headband/tailbands, light blue paper-covered boards, the spine is green-colored cloth, and the printing on the spine is silver. For Spartan Gold, it had orange headband/tailbands, light green paper-covered boards, the spine is blue-green cloth, and the printing on the spine is gold. The one I purchased has white headband/tailbands, dark green paper-covered boards, the spine is dark-blue paper, and the printing on the spine is copper. So of these which is the true first edition? I can tell you that the ones I received came directly from the publisher prior to the book being released. However, that means nothing. The reason is that I believe these books are simultaneously printed at several different printer/binders located throughout the country. I guess for some reason different printer/binders use (on occasion) different board coverings. So the question remains: which is the real first edition? In my opinion they both are and (if you can find them) should really be added to any collection. After all, they’re only $6.98 each.