u/mmesalv

The received bibliography of the Putnam first edition of Dune Messiah has, so far as I can tell, conflated two distinct books: the true first edition in its three impressions, and an unrelated 1981 trade reissue printed from plates inherited from the 1976 Doubleday Book Club edition. The confusion is understandable, since they share overlapping publisher nomenclature, and I want to lay out the evidence that separates them.

The true first edition was printed in three impressions, each of 2,500 copies (7,500 total), collating octavo in eights (\[1-8\]\^16, leaf size 210 x 140 mm) and running 256 pages throughout. The copyright page carries the same setting across all three impressions, distinguished only by the impression line, which is centered above the imprint and, on the second and third impressions, appears alongside the Library of Congress card number 77-91815 (the first impression carries the card number as well).

The first impression is bound in tan boards with no impression statement, only the LOC centered at the bottom. The second is bound in red leatherette boards (leather-like in appearance, though the hide material itself is not confirmed), stated “Second Impression.” The third is bound in brown cloth boards, stated “third impression.” All three were issued in a jacket coded 6910, priced $4.95 on the first two impressions and $7.95 on the third. The first and second impressions carry a facing leaf of “other works by the author” opposite the title page; I have not verified this point for the third impression, though it was printed later than the first two. The copyright page also misstates the Galaxy magazine serialization as running July through September 1969, when the serialization in fact ran July through November 1969.

A Doubleday Book Club edition was issued in 1976 from newly reset plates running 221 pages, identifiable by gutter code rather than blind stamp (G46 for the earliest printing, H10 for the second), bound in a red material closely resembling the true second impression’s leatherette but pleather in texture, mimicking the blank, unstated impression line of the true first impression and likewise omitting the LOC card number. Early book club jackets carry code 3177 rather than 6910, though this holds only for the first few printings. The BCE runs slightly taller than the true first edition but visibly thinner, a function of its shorter 221 page block.
In 1981, Putnam issued a trade reissue printed from these same 221 page plates. This reissue is bound in black paper boards with either silver or gold lettering, retaining jacket code 6910 but priced at $14.95, climbing through $17.95 to $18.95 across later recorded impressions. Its impression statement is set flush left relative to the Galaxy statement rather than centered, which is the single fastest way to distinguish it from a true first edition impression at a glance. It lacks the LOC card number entirely. This 1981 reissue, not the leatherette bound true second impression, is what earlier secondary bibliographies appear to have misidentified as “the second impression.” Despite sharing the BCE’s shorter page count, the reissue matches the true first edition’s outer trim size, achieved with a bulkier paper stock.

In hand, the true trade second impression and the earliest book club copies can be told apart even before checking the copyright page. On the trade binding, the spine lettering runs closer to the head and tail with less margin, and the red is more saturated with sharper black lettering than on the book club copies.

I wanted to do a write-up for “Dune Messiah” given the release of “Dune Part III”. I hope this helps other collectors!

The received bibliography of the Putnam first edition of “Dune Messiah” has, so far as I can tell, conflated two distinct books: the true first edition in its three impressions, and an unrelated 1981 trade reissue printed from plates inherited from the 1976 Doubleday Book Club edition. The confusion is understandable, since they share overlapping publisher nomenclature, and I want to lay out the physical evidence that separates them.

The true first edition was printed in three impressions, each of 2,500 copies (7,500 total), collating octavo in eights ([1-8]^16, leaf size 210 x 140 mm) and running 256 pages throughout. The copyright page carries the same setting across all three impressions, distinguished only by the impression line, which is centered above the imprint and, on the second and third impressions, appears alongside the Library of Congress card number 77-91815 (the first impression carries the card number as well).

The first impression is bound in tan boards with no impression statement, only the LOC centered at the bottom; the second, in red leatherette boards (leather-like in appearance, though the hide material itself is not confirmed) stated "Second Impression"; the third, in brown cloth boards, stated "third impression." All three were issued in a jacket coded 6910, priced $4.95 on the first two impressions and $7.95 on the third. The first and second impressions carry a facing leaf of "other works by the author" opposite the title page; I have not verified this point for the third impression, though it was printed later than the first two. The copyright page also misstates the Galaxy magazine serialization as running July–September 1969; the serialization in fact ran July–November 1969.

A Doubleday Book Club edition was issued in 1976 from newly reset plates running 221 pages, identifiable by gutter code rather than blind stamp — G46 for the earliest printing, H10 for the second — bound in a red material closely resembling the true second impression's leatherette but pleather in texture, mimicking the blank/unstated impression line of the true first impression and likewise omitting the LOC card number. Early book club jackets carry code 3177 rather than 6910, though this holds only for the first few printings. The BCE runs slightly taller than the true first edition but visibly thinner, a function of its shorter 221-page block.

In 1981, Putnam issued a trade reissue printed from these same 221-page plates. This reissue is bound in black paper boards with either silver or gold lettering, retaining jacket code 6910 but priced at $14.95 (climbing through $17.95 to $18.95 across later recorded impressions). Its impression statement is set flush left relative to the Galaxy statement rather than centered — the single fastest way to distinguish it from a true first-edition impression at a glance. It lacks the LOC card number entirely. This 1981 reissue, not the leatherette-bound true second impression, is what earlier secondary bibliographies appear to have misidentified as "the second impression." Despite sharing the BCE's shorter page count, the reissue matches the true first edition's outer trim size, achieved with a bulkier paper stock.

In hand, the true trade second impression and the earliest book club copies can be told apart even before checking the copyright page: on the trade binding the spine lettering runs closer to the head and tail with less margin, and the red is more saturated with sharper black lettering than on the book club copies.

Let me know if you have any questions! I do own all three editions (First, BCE and Reissue).

Very glad to have found this marked as a BCE. Amazing condition of a true second impression. Unread condition. All of my Dune first editions are unread. My Dune shelf is nearly complete. I have another first edition copy of Dune on the way.

I wanted to share this fascinating video I found while researching how companies made books back in the days before automation. Very cool find especially thinking how the Tolkien books were printed and the art and craft that goes into every one of them. I should mention the video is only a little more than half the full timeframe as it loops back to the beginning around 15ish minutes or so in.

- Cheers