BY CRAIG CABELL
What follows is a guide to collecting the first editions of Dan Brown in both the UK and US. As there are not many titles, special signed and illustrated editions are also included for clarity. Interesting paperbacks are also included, but not every paperback, as these are not as collectable as hardback books; only paperbacks that predate hardback issues are listed.
Special note regarding first hardback editions: If you are seriously collecting first edition hardbacks, either US or UK, ensure that the number line – if the book has one – on the copyright page has a ‘1’ in it, which denotes first edition, or has ‘First Edition’ clearly written on it. A good example are the Harry Potter books in first edition, where the first three books in the series has ‘10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1’ on copyright page, while books four, five, six and seven have ‘First Edition’. A number line that reads (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3) denotes a third edition.
To my mind the most important aspects of collecting first editions are:
• A price being on the dust jacket.
• The correct publisher noted on the spine of dust jacket and on the title page of the book.
• Correct number line or first edition state on copyright page.
Books that have GP, Guild Press, BCA, Ted Smart or World Book as publisher are normally listed as Book Club Editions and therefore worthless. Books that do not have a price on the dust jacket are normally passed off as Export Editions when in fact they are more often than not reserved for Book Club or libraries.
187 Men to Avoid: A Guide for the Romantically Frustrated Woman (Berkley Publishing Group, 1995). This was a paperback written under the pseudonym ‘Danielle Brown.’ The book’s author profile reads, ‘Danielle Brown currently lives in New England: teaching school, writing books, and avoiding men.’ The copyright is attributed to Dan Brown.
187 Men to Avoid: A Guide for the Romantically Frustrated Woman (Berkley, 2006): Paperback re-issue.
The Bald Book by Blythe Brown (1998) (although Dan Brown apparently did much work on it).
Digital Fortress (St Martin’s Press, 1998) (Press release version with press notes written by Brown’s wife Blythe): Hardback in dust jacket.
Digital Fortress (St Martin’s Press, 1998): Hardback in dust jacket.
Digital Fortress (Thomas Dunne Books, St Martin’s Griffin, 1998): Reissue hardback.
Angels & Demons (Pocket Books, 2000): Hardback in dust jacket.
Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code (Doubleday and Atria): X2 US hardback books in slipcase. First thus.
Angels & Demons Illustrated Edition (Atria, 2003): First hardback reissue in different wrapper to first US Edition.
Angels & Demons Illustrated Edition (Atria, 2005): Reissue hardback in yet a different dust jacket to anything previously issued.
Deception Point (Pocket Books, 2001): First US edition in dust jacket.
The Da Vinci Code (Doubleday, 2003): First US edition in dust jacket.
The Lost Symbol (Random House, 2009): Signed book plate edition limited to 700 copies only.
The Lost Symbol (Random House, 2009): US hardback variant limited to 1,000 copies in dust jacket and slip case.
The Lost Symbol Illustrated edition (Random House, 2009).
Digital Fortress (Bantam Press, 2005): First UK hardback in dust jacket.
Deception Point (Corgi Books, 2002): First UK paperback, pre-dates UK hardback releases.
Deception Point (Bantam Press, 2003): First UK hardback edition in dust jacket.
Angels & Demons (Corgi, 2001): UK paperback proof copy.
Angels & Demons (Corgi, 2001): UK paperback edition, pre-dates UK hardback releases.
Angels & Demons Illustrated Edition (Bantam Press, 2005): UK hardback in dust jacket.
Angels & Demons and the Da Vinci Code Omnibus Edition (Bantam Press, 2005): First UK Edition in dust jacket.
The Da Vinci Code (Bantam Press, 2003): First UK edition in dust jacket.
The Da Vinci Code Special Illustrated Collector’s Edition (Bantam Press, 2004): First UK hardback in dust jacket.
The Lost Symbol (Transworld, 2009): Standard UK hardback in dust jacket.
The Lost Symbol Limited signed edition (Transworld, 2009). The first 150 copies of the UK first edition had a colour pictorial key bookplate signed by Brown and were available from Waterstone’s, Piccadilly on the morning of release. These books were sold at face value and the most collectable today are those sold with ‘Signed by the Author at Waterstone’s’ sticker to front cover, till receipt, Waterstone’s carrier bag, Da Vinci Code Travel Journal and a free paperback in the Dan Brown style.
The Lost Symbol Illustrated Edition (Transworld, 2010): First UK edition in dust jacket.
The Lost Symbol (Transworld, 2010) first UK paperback edition: Unread copy with press release.