First Edition Reprints

Jon Meyers wrote:
wrote:

...Was
the price in the usual place? If so,
what was it?

Yes. $2.00.

Then it is almost certainly not a reprint,
although the fact that it is not a reprint
does not prove it is a first edition, either.

I have noticed that in the first half of the
Twentieth century, many publishers
list the printings by month, so you
might have first printing, June 1926,
second printing, July 1926; that sort
of thing. On the other hand, other
publishers did not designate the
printings at all, so if the book was
first printed in the year 1926, they
might continue printing the same
edition for a few, or many, years
while only showing the date of the
first printing, so that is the sort
of thing you need to watch out for.

Even so, it seems totally illogical to
believe that a book with a two dollar
printed price would be a reprint. The
book was very popular, so it may
have been reprinted in some later
decade, but it is very unlikely that
the publisher would allow the price
to be reprinted along with the book.
A publisher would certainly view
that as the proverbial can of worms
to be avoided at all costs.

[memo from the upstairs office]


--Jon Meyers

wrote in message
oups.com...
[Sorry for the unintended posts on this
thread. I have been doing some system
re-configuring, and the changes resulted in
my making some posts I had intended to
cancel.]

Don't apologize palmjob, those were your most lucid posts ever.




Here is what I had meant to say: One
thing the original poster -- and Mr.
Miniter also -- left out was the question
of whether or not there was any price
on the respective dust jackets. Was
the price in the usual place? If so,
what was it?

A 1926 novel priced for mass distribution
would probably be priced at under
three-dollars. I have seen many
reprints, some with bar-code added,
some without, but I have never seen
an exact reprint which reproduced the
original price, plainly because of the
retail sales confusion that could lead
to. Anyway, I think both posters could
have clarified things by mentioning
whether or not they were talking
about d.j's with prices, with cut
prices or intact with no printed
prices. I am not saying that alone
would resolve the question, but it
is certainly key information.

[from the upstairs office]

wrote:
Francis A. Miniter wrote:
Sam wrote:

A couple of years ago I purchased a copy of "Showboat" on eBay. I
paid a modest amount for it and was surprised when it arrived - it
was
mint - tight and brand new. The dust jacket could have been printed
only weeks before it seemed. It has the requisite points for a
first
printing, but I don't believe it as it just looks too good. I came
to
the conclusion that it must be one of those notorious "First Edition
Reprints" where a publisher reprinted first editions with their
points
and flaws intact, but I have to assume, some indicator that it is not
a
first printing. I have scoured the book looking for anything but
have
found nothing (same with the dust jacket)! Where do these books
identify themselves as such? Thanks...Sam


Hi Sam,

I take it you are referring to Edna Ferber's Showboat (Doubleday, Page
& Co.
1926). I have a copy. I am not sure it is a first printing, but I can
give you
the information I have, though I suspect you have already got some
information
from BAL or a another similar source.

The boards are 5 1/8 x 7 9/16. The color is a bright yellow with the
title and
author in black on the front cover, title up top, name at the bottom,
and again
on the spine - still black, both at the top with the publisher at the
bottom.
My copy lacks a headband. [That bothers me.] The top of the sheets
may be
stained a pale yellow, I am not sure. Signatures appear to be gathers
of 16
sheets (32 pages).

The front and back endpapers show a river port scene with the boat at
the dock,
a moon shining over the water and a number of people in the right side
panel.
The second sheet contains a printed statement to Winthrop Ames, and the
reverse
side lists Ferber's books to date - including Showboat - there are 13
of them.
Flipping over one more page there is a two page title and copyright
page layout.
Some words - "Showboat", "The Time", "The Players", "The Scene" and
the
publisher information - are in orange, the rest in black. Copyright
information
- contained at the bottom on the right hand side - simply notes
"Copyright 1926
by Edna Ferber". Flipping the page, the next page is blank on the left
and the
novel starts on the right at page numbered "1". It is 398 pages long
and
contains on free end sheet. None of the copies found on
used.Addall.com have
dust jackets. Nor does mine.

Text on the page occupies 3 5/8 across by 5 3/8 top to bottom (leaving
out the
book title and page number). Outer margins 3/4 inch. I find no unusual
printer's marks in any of the gutters.

I hope that helps.


Francis A. Miniter

wrote:
Jon Meyers wrote:

wrote:


...Was
the price in the usual place? If so,
what was it?

Yes. $2.00.


Then it is almost certainly not a reprint,
although the fact that it is not a reprint
does not prove it is a first edition, either.


Sorry--I misunderstood the question. I'm not the OP, and my response
was about the original edition in general--i.e. what the jacket of the
first printing should show. I don't know what's on the jacket of the
particular copy being asked about.


--Jon Meyers