Book club question (again)

External Since: Jul 06, 2003 Posts: 79

I know identification of book club editions comes up here often, but I've
got a very specific question about a very specific "marker." Googling, I've
found four references, given below, to the placing of "serial numbers" or
"numbers in a box" on the back jacket, in lieu of the ISBN number. I thought
this was pretty cool, so I added it to my "visual aids" for identifying book
clubs ( <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://home.att.net/~my_wings/problems/bomc01.html" target="_blank">http://home.att.net/~my_wings/problems/bomc01.html</a> -- it's at the
bottom) but then I ran into a book that I know isn't a book club, because it
still had the store sticker on it, but it also had the "numbers in a box" on
the back. I can't for the life of me lay my hands on that book right now,
but I noted it at the time.

Is the "numbers in a box" really a marker? Does it only apply in certain
circumstances, say, from a particular publisher? I'd appreciate any help
anyone could offer to clarify this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~begin Googled references~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On 30 Mar 2002 00:17:59 -0800, in rec.collecting.books, kalash DeleteThis @pacbell.net
(Joe Kalash) wrote:
In the book club editions (BCE), which, for most sci-fi/fantasy writers'
work, are typically from the Science Fiction Book Club (SFBC), there is
also usually a small box on the lower right corner of the back of the
jacket, to the right of the barcode (if present) near the spine, containing
a five-digit number.

On 2003-04-24 12:38:41 PST, in rec.collecting.books , Evelyn C. Leeper
(eleeper@optonline.net) wrote:
[In reference to the blind stamp]
Oh, I can identify them (no price on the DJ flap, and a serial number
instead of the ISBN block on the back of the DJ), but I was curious
about this "rule" I kept seeing.

On 2000/01/23, in rec.collecting.books, Jon Meyers (cathnjon@connectria.com)
wrote:
Joan Thomas wrote...
>Recently I purchased a novel called Bred to Win by William Kinsolving.
>It was published by Doubleday in 1990. There is no price on the dj buth
>there is no indication that the book is a Book Club Edition. However,
>there is a small white rectangle with the numbers 17020 inside on the
>back of the dj....
In this case--a mainstream book from a major publisher--the missing
price alone is enough to tag this book as a BCE. But, yes, the
numbers in the box are also a book-club marker. (IIRC, "Douglas K.
McClure" first mentioned that here.)

On 1999/11/12, in rec.collecting.books, Douglas K. McClure
(dkm@cts.no.spam.com) wrote:
ANOTHER TIP: Another scouting trick is to look at the back of the DJ
to see if it's a Book Club edition. Currently there will be a four or
five digit code in a little rectangle (in a contrasting color). If you
see that, you've got a BCE in your hand and you can put the book right
back on the shelf -- unopened. (I don't know what to call this little
rectangle. It will be easier for you to recognize than for me to
describe.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~end Googled references~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks.

Alice

External Since: Jun 24, 2003 Posts: 232

"my-wings" wrote...
> I know identification of book club editions comes up here often, but I've
> got a very specific question about a very specific "marker." Googling,
I've
> found four references, given below, to the placing of "serial numbers" or
> "numbers in a box" on the back jacket, in lieu of the ISBN number. I
thought
> this was pretty cool, so I added it to my "visual aids" for identifying
book
> clubs ( <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://home.att.net/~my_wings/problems/bomc01.html" target="_blank">http://home.att.net/~my_wings/problems/bomc01.html</a> -- it's at
the
> bottom) but then I ran into a book that I know isn't a book club, because
it
> still had the store sticker on it, but it also had the "numbers in a box"
on
> the back. I can't for the life of me lay my hands on that book right now,
> but I noted it at the time.
>
> Is the "numbers in a box" really a marker? Does it only apply in certain
> circumstances, say, from a particular publisher? I'd appreciate any help
> anyone could offer to clarify this.

The numbers-in-a-box marker primarily applies, I think, to Science Fiction
Book Club editions.

There are a few publishers--McGraw-Hill and Prentice-Hall, as examples--that
at one time (before ISBNs became the standard) assigned their books in-house
code numbers. These numbers were stamped on the rear board and printed on
the jackets, often in a box on the rear panel. The book you remember might
have been one of those.

And, as Doug noted, BCEs are often sold as remainders, so the bookstore
price sticker is not proof that the book is a publisher's edition.

--
Jon Meyers
[To reply,
lose your way.]