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Step 1
Pick up the book and go to the third or fourth page that has the copyright symbol and the year it was published. This page will usually be after the title and dedication pages.The copyright symbol is usually located on the left hand bottom corner of the page.
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Step 2
Study the copyright pages closely. Scour the page for any words like first edition, publication, printing, or published. If there is any indication this was the first edition, it will be on this page and will state it pretty clearly.
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Step 3
Understand the terminology of books and printing. Know the difference between publications, printings and editions. First, the term edition means that a certain number of copies have been made from the same manuscript. This means all of the printed copies are identical. Second, the term printings is different than edition because printings are the press runs. Editions go through these press runs.
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Step 4
Confirm the copyright page's date matches the title page's date. If there is an identical match, you have yourself a first edition.
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Step 5
Look on the copyright page for a series of numbers on the same line. This series of numbers is a code to publishers and printers of books and you need to know how to translate it if you are going to locate first editions. First, look for the smallest number in the series. This number will tell you what the edition number is. For example, if the number is 4, you know it is the fourth edition. Look for the number 1.
