INTERPRETING THE DATE

(a) The Context

If you've located the the page with the publication details, and  found a date and deciphered it, the next step is to find out what the date actually means. It probably means one of three things. Either it is the date the book was printed, or it is the date the book was published (Japanese books often give both dates, usually a few days or even a couple of weeks apart), or this is a later printing and the date you have deciphered is the date the book was first published (or printed).

The first thing to do is look at the context. Is the date given in a single column or line of text that stands alone? Or does it appear in two or more columns or lines of text (each one with different numbers, indicating a separate date)?

If there is only one column or line of text then the date is probably the date of publication. You will need to follow further clues (given later on) to determine whether it is a first printing or a later printing.

If there are two columns or lines of text (which is typical), then this probably indicates one of two possibilities, as follows:

(1) The book is a first edition, and the right-hand column, or topmost line of text, refers to the date of printing and the left-hand column, or bottom line of text, refers to the date of publication.

(2) The book is a later printing, and the right-hand column, or topmost line of text, refers to the date of the first printing, and the left-hand column, or bottom line of text, refers to the date of printing of this particular copy.

If there are more than two columns or lines of text with dates the book is almost certainly a later printing; the final column or line of text will give the date of the book in question, and the previous columns or lines of text will give the dates of earlier printings.

(b) Other Clues

OK, so we've now narrowed things down to one or more columns or lines of text that show one or more of the following:
        - date of printing
        - date of publication of this particular printing
        - date of publication of previous printings
The final step is to work out which of the dates on the page refer to which of these three pieces of information. There are several ways in which publishers show this information. Most of them use a combination of some or all of the following symbols:

Let's try putting these together, with a few examples. Remember, if there is more than one column or line of text with a date in it, it will be the left-hand column or the bottom line of text that will give the publication details of the book itself. Other columns or lines of text will refer either to the details of printing (typically a book is printed a couple of weeks or so before it is actually published, or distributed) or to the details of previous editions.

Here, then, is a typical first edition statement:

You see? If you've stuck with me this far, you'll see it's not really so difficult. OK, the date may be given in Japanese symbols, rather than in Arabic numerals, but what is really important is what comes after the date. The first date is followed by the symbols "first edition printing" and the second date is followed by the symbols "first edition publication". If the text is printed vertically, the first date will be on the right, and the second date on the left. There, now - that wasn't so difficult, was it?

Before we take a look at other ways that publishers might show that their publication is a first edition, let's take a look at the warning signs - things which betray conclusively that the book is not a first edition.

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