Remember my entry: On the Affects of Book Buying on the Bibliomaniac’s Brain well those books that I ordered came in yesterday. All but the Michio Kaku book on Einstein.

So now I get to find a reasonably priced copy of both EINSTEIN’S COSMOS and THE DOCTOR’S PLAGUE. And my cursory searches on ABE Books last night shows a bunch that are available for a little under cover price.

Now onto On Why You Must Know Your First Editions.

I was searching ABE Books on a whim last night for THE STAND by STEPHEN KING. I wanted to gauge what the First US Edition was going for. Now I am not talking about the First US Edition of the uncut and unedited version. I have that and it isn’t that expensive. Maybe a $50 book if you wait for the right buyer. I am talking the first edition released in 1978.

THE STAND has been released in a number of editions and formats. On ABE Books there are a number of sellers that are listing this re-release as the First Edition and they are asking hefty sums for it. And this is why you must know a little about first editions. THE STAND, the 1978 version, has a nice price tag to it. Maybe around $3000. But those hardcovers released as uncut and unedited are not true first editions of the book.

This tends to happen with popular authors like KING. People think they find a hardcover marked First Edition and they think they have it the jack pot since they only paid $50 for it at a store when in fact they over paid for one of the re-releases of the book. Normally a book seller that belongs to the ABAA and does business by their code of ethics would correct that mistake if they sold you a book that they advertised as a true first edition and it wasn’t. However, (and this subject I will discuss later) it is always good to get to know your book dealer. A second dealer may have it cheaper but if you are familiar with your current dealer you know how he runs his business.

I am currently searching for a First UK and First US edition of DRACULA and I am researching how to identify a true first edition and not second or third printings or second editions. Usually the bookseller might be mistaken when he labels a book as a first edition or he is outright lying. But as always the buyer should always be informed.