What does bvg mean on a book?
For the most part, the first edition of a book is more meaningful to the world of book collectors than it was to the publisher who printed it. That’s because the first printing only represents a portion of the total number of copies of a book that the publisher hopes to sell. That first printing is just an installment on what they hope to be a long term investment in that book. The first printing of a book might contain a few thousand copies. As those copies are shipped out to bookstores and sold, publishers will start a second printing to meet consumer demand. Because most publishers aren’t typically in the business of trading in rare and collectible books, they haven’t necessarily had a strong reason for a unified and consistent way of identifying first editions.
Professional booksellers and dedicated collectors spend time collecting knowledge and resources on what a particular publisher might use to identify the first printing of a book. Each publisher has their own conventions for what they use to tell the first printing of their books, and to further complicate matters, they tend to periodically change what they’ve been doing from time to time. The specifics of a identifying a particular book’s first printing often benefits from the use of reference books, but there are some basic things to look for.
Typically, you will want to start with the copyright page as a first glance into a book’s lineage. That page is usually on the verso of the title page. Publishers will often use one of a few methods for showing where that copy falls in the printing history of that book. A number line might show the printing and sometimes the year of publication. The idea here is an elimination game. In most cases, the first number on that number line indicates what printing that copy was a part of. With each printing, the publisher removes a number from the line of numbers. The lowest number on that line often indicates that book’s printing number.
A variation on that theme is the letter row. A is the first printing, B is the second... Harper and Brothers, one of the many incarnations of the modern day HarperCollins publishing house, used a unique two letter code between 1912-1922 that indicated the month and year of publication. The first letter, A-M indicated the month, January-December. The second letter, M-W, indicated the year, 1912-1922.
In some cases, a number is moved from the left side of the line to the end of the right side as that printing is exhausted. Another variation is printing number and year of publication. One side of the number line is the the printing number, the other side is the year of that printing. Numbers and years are removed as the book continues through its course of sales.
Sometimes the word “First Edition” will helpfully be printed on that page, often described as “First edition stated” by booksellers. “First printing”, “First Impression”, and “First Published” are other ways of publishers stating the first edition. That bold declaration can’t always be taken as authoritative, though. If the word First Edition is on the page with a number line, that number line must be complete. This means that the first number in that line of numbers must start with the first number for that publisher. In most cases, this is predictably a ’1’, but in one famous example of the arcane nature of publisher’s methods, Random House between 1970 and 2002 began their number lines with a 2 on their first editions that included a number line. Counter intuitively, a 1 in the number line for that publisher during those years meant a later printing.
The printing history page is the first thing to check, but not the last. In some cases the printing history may show everything that you could hope for, but other parts of the book contradict that story. Reprint houses (EG: Sundial Press, Triangle Books, Grossett and Dunlap) would sometimes purchase the original printing plates from the original publisher. Their reprinted edition would potentially bear all of the same edition identifiers on the copyright page. The test here is to compare that copyright page with the information on the spine of the book. Typically, the reprint house would label the tail of the spine with their company name. If the copyright page tells you that the book is a first edition from William Morrow and Company, but the spine of the book tells you that it was published by Walter J. Black, you probably don’t have a first edition.
Advanced review copies and other pre-production copies of a book may also share all of the printing history details as the first edition, but the cover of these editions almost invariably will state that it is an advanced review copy or galley, or something similar. While these pre-publication printings are technically first editions, they tend to have limited appeal to collectors, so they generally aren’t the first edition that collectors seek.
Much the same as reprint houses, book clubs will reproduce the entire book without any changes, and that reproduction includes the printing history. Book club editions can usually be identified as such by one of a few tell-tale signs. In most any hardcover modern work of fiction, the dust jacket has a price in the front flap. If your copy doesn’t have a dust jacket to compare by, there are other ways to potentially tell it it’s a book club edition, but without the dust jacket, it’s value is probably pretty limited regardless of whether or not it’s a first edition. For many decades book clubs would mark their editions with a blind stamp or colored deboss on the tail of the back board, near the spine. That little mark is a sure sign of a book club edition.
Not all publishers make specific mention of the first edition. In some cases, no indication to the contrary is the way that you can tell the first printing. Book collectors expresses this as “no additional printings.” This simply means that the copyright page of a book is free of any number lines beginning with a 2 or statements to the affect of “Second printing.” Viking Publishing used this method during the 1980’s, for example.
Every once in awhile, you may run across a book that states that it is “Second printing before publication.” That statement informs that the first printing of the book ended up not meeting the initial bookstore orders before the book went on sale to readers. That particular statement is something of a boast from the publisher, telling readers that the first edition sold out before the book was ever even released. The statement “Second printing before publication” really just means that the book is a second printing. The first printing is the first edition.
Once you have some level of confidence that your book is a first edition, you may be faced with a question of state. Some books went through some subtle but significant metamorphoses mid-print run. As the first printing/first edition was being printed, some change would occasionally be introduced. Sometimes this was a matter of catching a typo or missing page, or sometimes the change was even more practical, such as switching the color of the cloth on the binding as the supply of one color ran out. Since the goal of the book collector’s interest in the first edition is getting as close to the original source as possible, almost invariably, the first state is the most valuable copy of the first edition. The changes in during the production of the first printing are called “states”, so you may see a book described as “First edition, first state”. That indicates that the copy they are offering is the earliest example of that commercial production. The identifying characteristics of changes in state are called “points of issue”. Those points of issue are the specific misprints or changes. For example, JD Salinger’s Raise High the Roof Beams, Carpenter, and Seymour: an Introduction went through three different states in the first edition. The earliest state lacks the author’s dedication page. That mistake was caught fairly quickly. The printers fixed that error by tipping in the missing page, creating the second state of the first edition. The initial error was fully addressed later in that print run when the missing dedication page was printed and bound into the book, creating the third state of the first edition. All three states are first editions, but the 1st state sells for around $5,000. The second state comes down precipitously to around $300 or so, and fine copies of the third state of that first edition for even less.
The printer's key, also known as the number line, is a line of text printed on a book's copyright page (often the verso of the title page, especially in English-language publishing) used to indicate the print run of the particular edition. The convention appears in titles published around the middle of the 20th century; it became common practice after 1970.
An example follows:
This is how the printer's key may appear in the first print run of a book. Numbers are removed with subsequent printings, so if "1" is seen then the book is the first printing of that edition. If it is the second printing then the "1" is removed, meaning that the lowest number seen will be "2".
Usually, the printer's key is a series of numbers or letters. However its structure or presentation is not uniform, as shown in the following examples:
In some cases, rather than follow in series, the numbers may alternate from left to right. For example:
In other cases, number lines may include a date segment:
This indicates a second printing (or second impression) and that it occurred in 1970. Specifically, it is this particular imprint's second impression of the edition.
When the publisher outsources the printing to a contractor, a code identifying the contracting printer may occasionally be shown:
The hypothetical printer's key above means
Bibliographers usually define a first edition as all printings from substantially the same type setting, no matter how many printings are done. Book collectors tend to define first edition as the first printing of the first edition.
With each successive reprint, the publisher needs to instruct the printer to change the impression number. In practice, if the plates (in offset printing) have been kept, a number can be erased, but nothing can be added. In this arrangement, all the printer need do is "rub off" the last number in sequence. Changing only the outer number requires the fewest possible changes to the page of characters, which means the smallest possible charge to the publisher. In the days of letterpress printing, where each character was a metal block, all the printer had to do was to pick out the relevant block(s) from the "sheet"; the remaining stack of blocks, which had been laboriously laid out when the page was first set up, could then be inked for the reprint. In the case of a Linotype slug, the lowest number could be filed off and the slug reused. For offset printing with metal plates, the number can be erased without damaging the rest of the plate. In each case, the change is minimal.
— This page and its contents are the way your book is represented to . Typically at the left margin will be years, and on the right a series of numbers to indicate printings. Next year, if a new printing is needed, the plates for the book do not need to be remade. . Could you please tell me what “BVG” means.
How do you know if a book is a first edition? Since criteria for indicating a first edition varies from publisher to publisher, there’s no easy answer. To complicate matters, some publishers do not identify their first editions at all, or have used varying methods over the years.
That said, there are some general guidelines one can rely upon to identify many first editions. If you find yourself purchasing a certain publisher’s books very often, you would do well to familiarize yourself with the methods that publisher uses to identify its first editions.
The best guide to first edition identification is A Pocket Guide to the Identification of First Editions” by Bill McBride. The 7th edition has just been published.
McBride’s book “Points of Issue : A Compendium of Points of Issue of Books by 19th-20th Century Authors,” is also well worth buying. Both books are softcover, inexpensive, and small enough to fit in your pocket. You can buy them directly from Bill McBride or buy it at Amazon.com.
There are many ways that publishers identify their books as a first edition. Some common ones are:
Number lines have been commonly used in the post-World War II era. The line commonly is a series of numbers (ex: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 or 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2. Occasionally a letter line is used (ex: a b c d e).
Generally speaking, if the “1” is present, the book is a first edition (first edition, first printing).
For the second printing, the “1” is removed, so the “2” is the lowest number present. For example, a number line that reads 5 6 7 8 9 indicates a fifth printing.
Occasionally a number line will be accompanied by a date line. Example: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 80 81 82 83 84 indicates a third printing, published in 1980.
Confusion enters the situation when one encounters both a “First Edition” designation and a number line. For example, the copyright page may read “First Edition” and be accompanied by the number line 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2. In this case, one of two situations may apply:
In these two situations it is best to consult a guide to first editions, or a bibliography.
Though these guidelines serve as a good rule of thumb, each publisher has their own way of designating their first editions, and I strongly recommend purchasing a guide to first editions, such as Bill McBride’s.
If you find that the date on a book’s copyright page matches the date on the title page, it is likely that it is a first edition. Very occasionally these dates may differ – for example, if the book was copyrighted late in the year and published early the next year. But generally you want to find dates that match.
Sometimes you may see a series of dates on the copyright page. This is usually because some of the work appeared at an earlier time in a different publication. For example, a poem or chapter may have been published in a literary journal or anthology. In this case, if the latest date on the copyright line matches the title page, then you likely have a first edition.
Small press publishers print books in relatively small press runs, from just a dozen or so on up to a few thousand. For reasons such as budget and demand, most small press publications do not go into second or later printings. As a general rule of thumb, if you have a small press book and there is no indication of a later printing, there’s a high likelihood of it being a first edition. Most small press publishers do designate later printings on the copyright page. Also, check the back of the book to see if there’s a colophon page that explains the details of the printing history.
For an accurate, up-to-date guide on publishers’ current – and previous – methods of identifying first editions, I strongly recommend finding a copy of A Pocket Guide to the Identification of First Editions. It is inexpensive, and small enough to fit in your pocket or bag to take along on book shopping expeditions.
There are several ways to identify book club editions (BCE). Different book clubs use different criteria for identifying their books. But, here are some rules of thumb:
If in doubt, do a web search for a bibliography of the author in question. If you still can’t find the answer, the folks at rec.collecting.books newsgroup may be able to help you out.
Some book club editions are sought by collectors; most are not. But there are easy ways to research your book’s possible value.
They are both the same thing. Printing is the more commonly used term.
When a particular book is printed for the first time by a particular publisher, that’s the first printing, or impression. (The first printing is also what book collectors call a “first edition.” Subsequent printings would be, for example, a “2nd printing” – but not a first edition.)
When the supply of the first printing (or impression) runs low, and the publisher needs more copies a second printing is done. (Some popular books go through many printings or impressions.)
Have you ever seen the statement “second printing before publication” on the copyright page? In a nutshell, it’s just a second printing, printed before the date the book went on sale.
Each book that is published has a planned publication (release) date. The publisher estimates about how many books will be needed to fulfill orders from book sellers, and prints that many.
Sometimes a book receives so many advance orders that the publisher needs to order a second printing to meet the demand. That’s what’s known as the “second printing before publication.”
A second printing before publication is no more or less desirable than any other second printing. Generally, book collectors are interested in the first printing of the first edition.
Another note here on the use of the term “first edition:” To a publisher, all printings within an edition are the “first edition.” But publishers are the only ones who use the term that way.
In common usage – the way book collectors & booksellers intend it – a “first edition” is only the first printing of the first edition. If an advertised book is referred to as a first edition, “first printing of first edition” is always what’s meant.
Some are; many are not. (Every book has a first edition, but not every book is desired by collectors.) Please see our article on the value of first editions.
Often, books are published in various countries by the same publisher on the same day. How do you know which one is the “true first edition”?
For books published in multiple countries simultaneously, the general rule amongst book collectors is to “follow the flag.” This means that book published in the author’s own country is considered the “true first.” So, for instance, if the books are released on the same day & the author is American, the American first would be most desired.
However, if the Canadian edition were released on a date before the American edition, in most instances it would have priority with collectors, since it is the earliest publication of the book (the “true first”).
I say “in most instances,” because if the author is American, some collectors will still prefer to have the American book, even if it was published slightly earlier in another country. Collectors are funny like that; although there are generally accepted customs & trends – such as “follow the flag” – each collector will still have his own preferences.
And, a completist collector (one who wants to collect everything by a particular author) will want to have both the American and Canadian editions, even though only one will be considered the “true first.”
To sum up – as a general rule, if you have a choice between two books or more books, published at the same time in different countries, you’ll want to buy the one published in the author’s native country.
These books can be found at your local bookshop, library, or Amazon.
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— The best guide to first edition identification is A Pocket Guide to the Identification of First Editions ” by Bill McBride. The 7th edition has just been ."General guidelines for. · Identifying book club editions
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