If you geek books, you catch whenever books are mentioned in movies, on TV shows or in other books. One of my favorite book mentions comes from the 2003 remake of The Italian Job. Mos Def’s character "Left Ear" mentions that he is going to spend his share of the money just plundered on a “library full of first editions, and a room for my shoes.” But how could a library full of books and a closet full of shoes cost that much?? You can buy books for pennies these days right? The answer comes, at least in regards to books, in the fact that Left Ear is buying First Editions. Thus begs the question “What is a first edition?” and that’s what we’re here to discuss.
What Is A First Edition?
(Pauses for Kenny Rogers references)
A first edition is the first incarnation of a book. When the author celebrates their book being published, that is likely the first edition. In the fiction world, most of the time books do not get a second or third edition. They might get multiple printings (but we’re getting ahead of ourselves), but often additional changes are not made to works of fiction. Second editions come, typically, in non-fiction books and usually in fields where new research is done on a given subject. New journals are discovered in an attack that detail new information about a historic event, or the author discovers something previously unknown about a math theorem and all prior knowledge is moot. Textbooks often get new editions as well. For example, you do not want to be using a textbook in your chemistry class that does not have an updated Periodic Table.
So why was Left Ear going to spend all that money on first editions?
Depending on the book, first editions can be expensive. If you tread into the waters of first printings, things can be even more expensive. Take for example one of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books. You might go to the books store and find a new, first edition, probably first run, hardback for $20. If you saunter over to the bargain table, you might find an older, fifth or sixth run hardback for $3.99. What is the difference? The first is newer yes, but it is also the most original. The later editions might contain edits that change details or erase whole characters for some reason or another.
Still I don’t think Left Ear was buying first editions of Lee Child books. Today, I clicked over to ebay, and searched FIRST EDITION, WILLIAM FAULKNER. The first two results went for a combined $150. Why? One they are from a well known author and two they are first editions printed in 1927 and 1932 respectively. Those books are closest to what Faulkner wrote. Thus it is going to be more expensive. Plus, you have to think that a book originally published in 1932 is worth something just by the fact it has survived countless spring cleanings, regiftings, trips to the second hand store, and anything else that brings a book to its untimely end. Finally, you have to factor in the quality of the materials going into a book. Traditionally, books go out in hardcover form first, and if proved popular enough, they will come out in paperback. That alone is enough to drive the price of a first edition past that of a subsequent pressing or edition.
Also, the first editions Left Ear is stocking his library are going to be the ones printed close to the time they were originally printed and not the paperbacks you can find on the DISCOUNT table at the bookstore. They’re more collectable, older, and more rare than your fifth, sixth, or seventh editions or printing books. Why go for first editions? At the end of the day it’s all about preference and how much you want to spend. Left Ear had just robbed a bank and was going to pocket a largely sum of money, so plopping down $135 for a first edition F. Scott Fitzgerald is not as big a deal as it would be for the family buying The Great Gatsby the night before a 3 page book review is due.
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