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Creasy Spines

“Every crease is a story.”

Edition Detective

Is it a first edition?

Show us the copyright page. We read the number line, statements and dates against each publisher's known practice, and tell you what to check in hand.

Check a book

Photograph the copyright page (the back of the title page) flat and in good light. Add the title page, the front jacket flap (for the price) or the rear board if you like, up to four photos.

Photos are resized and stripped of location data before saving.

Optional: anything the photo might miss

Guidance, not an appraisal. Verdicts come from general bibliographic practice and can be wrong for individual titles; high-value books deserve a specialist bibliography or a reputable dealer.

Before you check a copy

Does Edition Detective authenticate a first edition?

It helps interpret the clues on a copyright page, including number lines, edition statements and publisher conventions. It cannot authenticate a signature, inspect the binding or establish provenance. For a valuable copy, check the title-specific bibliographic points with a specialist.

Which photograph gives the most useful result?

Use a clear, straight photograph of the complete copyright page. Keep the publisher, dates, edition statement and whole number line visible. Photograph the title page and jacket separately for your own comparison; a spine alone rarely establishes a printing.

Does a first edition always have a high value?

No. Reader demand, scarcity, condition, printing and the presence of the correct jacket all matter. Compare like-for-like copies and treat current asking prices as seller offers, not evidence that a book has sold at that price.