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First editions are popular with just about any and all book collectors, and this is because these items are limited, and they continue to dwindle in number as the years go by. Authors that are extremely popular tend to have the most valuable first editions on the market, and there are people that have managed to establish quite a collection simply because they know what to look for when it comes to spotting these items. There is no one right way to go about identifying these books; in fact, there are a variety of methods that a person will have to take depending on the publisher and the date in which the book was printed. 1. Numeric Systems Numeric systems are sometimes used to denote a first edition, and these are usually indicated by numbers that run from 1 through to 9. Certain publishing houses will then continue to raise the first number by 1 with every print, so that a second print will run from 2 to 9. It is important for individuals to remember that this is only one way of identifying a first edition, and only certain publishing houses will mark these editions in this manner; it is often a good idea to verify that you have a first edition by checking the bibliography of the author. 2. Written Identification Certain publishing houses will actually state that a print is a “First Edition” instead of printing out a row of numbers, while others will add the row in after this statement. Other phrases that indicate the book is a first edition include “First Impression” and “First Printing”. 3. Outside Sources If you want to go the extra mile to determine whether a book is a first edition, it might be worthwhile doing some research to find out exactly when the first printing was done. It might take some time to search through bibliographies to identify these dates, but it can come in handy when an individual simply cannot verify whether they have a first edition in hand or not. 4. No Further Printings There is another way that a publisher can identify a first print; they can put the letters NAP on the copyright page; this stands for No Additional Printings. Identifying first editions is important for individuals who either want to collect these items or sell them to the highest bidder, and since this is not always a straight-forward process, it’s worth taking note of all the indicators. For more information about Hamza, please visit us on our website.
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