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According to bibliophile Rebecca Hanneman, an edition refers to all copies of a book printed from the same typeset. A printing, or impression, refers to all copies of the book printed at one specific time within an edition. Thus, the same edition could have multiple printings that span several years. To a book collector, the phrase "first edition" refers to a book that is part of the first printing of the first edition -- a true first in every sense of the word. Determining first editions, warns Glenn Larson of RareBooks.Org, can be a tricky business: "Publishers have almost as many
ways to designate firsts as they do titles." Most publishers will state "first edition," "first printing," or display what's called a number line on the copyright page. The number line (sometimes called letter line) must have a "1" or an "A" in it to denote a true first edition. Bear in mind, book collecting can be a capricious undertaking. These days, a first edition of Harry Potter is worth more than most classics!
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