first editions
Initial publication copies
First editions are the earliest published copies of a book, printed from the initial typesetting.
Book collectors prize first editions, especially of important or popular works, and condition matters greatly: a first edition in dust jacket can fetch thousands.
Publishers sometimes indicate first editions explicitly; other times collectors must decode printing codes.
The term extends to other media—first editions of newspapers, maps, or prints.
- rare booksUncommon valuable printed works
- signed copiesBooks inscribed by author
- incunabulaEarliest European printed books
- dust jacketRemovable paper book cover
- title pageBook's identifying front page
colophon · foxing · provenance · antiquarian · limited editions · print run · bibliophile · book collecting · appraisal · auction house · Gutenberg Bible · binding · bibliomania · imprint · pagination · manuscript · Sotheby's · rare book dealer
- booksnovel, textbooks, study guides, book, paperback
- readingfluency, read, comprehension, readers, books
- antiquesantiques, antique furniture, antique, antique coins, Greek vases
- literary worldauthors, writers, poets, novelists, literary agents
- publishingpublishers, editors, editor, publishing house, books
- book culturereading, reader, book lover, bookworm, bibliophile
first editionsreprints
Subsequent publication runs
revised editions · book club editions · reissues · mass market paperbacks · remainders