At first glance, a copyright page can appear as a jumble of dates, disclaimers, codes, and publisher information. For a collector, however, it is one of the most helpful pages in a book. It may tell you the edition, point toward which printing your copy may be, show a change of publisher, and explain why two books with identical covers are not necessarily the same issue.
One of the first questions you have to answer is which date matters. A copyright page might contain the year the work was first copyrighted, the date of a later revision, and the date a specific copy was printed. Just because the earliest date is older doesn’t mean it tells you anything about your copy. Always compare the dates on the copyright page to those on the title page, the edition statement, the publisher’s imprint, and any other phrases that indicate something like “first published” or “revised” or “reprinted” or “this edition.” Copy down the phrase just as it is written before making assumptions.
A number line is typically a string of numbers. These numbers may be ordered in descending order, ascending order, or divided by spaces. A number line might look like 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, and in this case, the smallest number present, which would be the 1, is generally assumed to represent the printing; thus, 1 means first printing. However, if the smallest number is 3, your copy might be the third printing. Some publishers drop off a number with each printing, others mix numbers and dates, and yet others use their own system of numbering. A number line alone is not always sufficient to identify the printing; you need to know the publisher and the period of publication.
Take two different books from different publishers and take a photo of the copyright page of each. Write down the number line in the same order and spacing. Also note the copyright dates, edition statement, ISBN, publisher name, and any other phrases regarding printing. Don’t attempt to figure out which book is which yet. Look at the pages together. Comparing two different copyright pages will make it easier to spot differences, and you’ll be less likely to mistake a well-known number line pattern for something it isn’t.
Some books don’t have all the information you want. Older editions may not include a number line, and newer books might not state clearly which printing they are. Some book club editions, foreign editions, or reprints of later editions may have an older copyright date, but a different binding, title-page publisher’s imprint, ISBN, or other characteristics. A dust jacket may provide additional clues, but it can also be a dust jacket from a different copy. If you’re unsure about the identity of a book based on a single clue, it’s better to say what you do know rather than try to fit it into a category you think it belongs in.
One entry might read, “Copyright dated 1986; this edition dated 1994; number line ends in 4; fourth printing.” Another might say, “Likely early printing based on publisher data; exact impression cannot be verified.” The next time you open a copyright page, look past the oldest date, and instead focus on the relationship between the dates, edition statements, publisher information, and number line. This relationship is usually more informative than any individual piece of data.
