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Help Determining Which Print
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Post Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2024 9:56 am 
 

Hey folks,

I've come into possession of what is transpiring to be quite a rare collector's item. It's one of the UK Print Basic Rule books for OG Edition D&D, however I'm struggling to determine if it's a 1st Print or 2nd Print and I'm curious to know if there's anyone out there that can definitively qualify as there seems to be some uncertainty around what this is. What should be noted is that the inside address for Games Workshop does not have a sticker over it, so I'm curious to hear your thoughts about:

1 - Which Edition you think this is?

2 - Rough estimates of value on auction?

Listed on the Acaeum is this page: acaeum.com/ddindexes/setpages/foreign/b ... icfor.html which seems to indicate that the Silver text on the front cover 'Games Workshop', coupled with the Silver back cover may be the first edition.

However I've struggled to find much of anything else online besides this eBay listing  
** expired/removed eBay auction **
from earlier this year, that notes in the description that the telltale indicator of a 1st print was the 'Red Games Workshop' text on the front cover.

Image

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I did email the contact address for Acaeum who helpfully (and quickly) came back with their reply, which they said they'd be happy for me to share here - I'm just slightly confused if the omission of a sticker on my copy is cause for doubt.

Interesting question!  Those printing descriptions were probably last touched twenty years ago.  My memory doesn't go that far back, unfortunately, so I can only make some educated guesses:

   There's a few items on the website that have similar circumstances, i.e. we have no idea which version came first.  In such cases, we've been pretty good about explicitly stating that.

   Since for this rulebook we definitively state which is the First print, I'd think there was some piece of data that led us to that conclusion.  But if that were the case, I'm perplexed why we didn't specifically point out that piece of data.

   Looking at this with a fresh set of eyes, my gut reaction is that the printing order on the site is incorrect, and that the red-lettered front cover came first -- based solely on the lack of the address sticker inside.  It would seem to make sense that the presence of an address sticker -- i.e., a change to what came before -- points to that being a Second print.  I'm not sure why this wouldn't have been obvious twenty years ago.

   The only contrary scenario I can think of is if we had that piece of data that said that TSR UK was originally at Uxbridge Road, and then they moved to Dalling Road.  But again, if that were the case, we should have explicitly pointed that out.

SO, long answer long, I'd recommend you ask our forum members.  Feel free to copy my response in your post, and see if anyone can contradict.  If no one does, I'll promptly flip the order of the prints on the website.

None of this will detract from the value of that beautiful rulebook you've got, by the way; both prints are class-5 rares, and I don't know that I've seen one in as good a condition as yours.

Regards,

NAME

P.S.  Before I pressed "Send" on this, I decided to use the Internet.  :/  The first place I landed was the Games Workshop website, which proudly stated in their Company History section that the original store was at 1 Dalling Road: https://jobs.games-workshop.com/our-history/timeline .

My second stop was a rather extensive Wiki (Games Workshop | Games Workshop Wiki | Fandom), which stated that the move from "The Breadbin" temporary office at 97 Uxbridge Road (Shepherd's Bush & Acton Estate & Letting Agents | Winkworth Estate Agents in Shepherd's Bush & Acton W12) to a bigger situation at 1 Dalling Road occurred in March 1978.  Several months after the apparent publication of the UK Basic Rulebook!  So my guess now is that we've got the print sequence correct.  While "1 Dalling Road" was the printed address in the rulebook, for some reason those silver-backed copies had the old address put on a label -- most likely because the move hadn't happened yet / was still in flux.  It would therefore make sense that the First print was actually printed in Feb 1978 (right as they were negotiating the new office), but someone decided that it was too early in the process to leave that prospective address in there.  The Second print would have been Mar/Apr 1978 (or whenever the First print stock ran out), with the Dalling Road address confirmed.  Again, all educated guesswork, but I think this is how it would have went down.

I'll update the page on the site with this new info, so hopefully makes it a bit more clear.  


What are your thoughts? :)

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Post Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2024 12:30 pm 
 

The printing sequence was recently changed on The Acaeum to reflect new information that has come to light. The response you received closely aligns with these updates. We're fairly confident in these updates, but the descriptions and sequence could evolve as more details are collected to confirm or refute the recent changes.

A little more context: The previous Acaeum details had the printings flipped, but there was a disclaimer indicating that the printing sequence wasn't entirely known. This can be the case with many collectibles, as the printing sequence isn't always clear, especially with some of the earlier items where the printing processes and procedures weren't standardized. Part of the original print sequence justification was based on anecdotal evidence from members who had purchased the rulebook when it was originally released and recollected the release sequence as previously indicated. This particular evidence is not the most reliable, but it was the best that could be determined at the time.

Here's the original commentary:

We're not sure which print actually came first (this or the second print below), as both rulebook prints differ only in the color of the back of the rulebook and the writing color on the front. Also note that only the Basic Rulebook was released with this print, not the set.

If we are unable to verify the print sequence as currently indicated, we'll likely add some additional context for the printing sequence change and a disclaimer.

Onto your questions:

1 - Which Edition do you think this is?
To clarify, you're asking about the printing, not the edition. If you follow the new print sequence, this would be a 1st print without the address correction sticker. That's assuming the back of the book is silver.

2 - Rough estimates of value at auction?
It's hard to say what this would bring at auction, as there haven't been many of these for sale in recent times, especially in this condition, which appears to be exceptional. That being said, I could see this selling for $1,500-2,000, or even more if the right combination of people are bidding.

Since this is a desirable item, I would recommend that you list it at a low starting bid, provide a lot of high-res pictures, include a detailed description, and mention it in prominent groups, such as The Acaeum and on Facebook, which I believe you have already done. Is this your post on Facebook?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/raretsr ... 3443559113

Best of luck with your sale.

  

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Post Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2024 4:17 pm 
 

Thank you for your reply and for clarifying a few points - I must say that despite my general unfamiliarity with D&D Collectibles, the community has been overwhelmingly helpful in my establishing precisely the nature of the Rulebook and its rarity. Yes, I have managed to join the group you recommended, and looks like you spotted my initial post there :)

I've now listed the Rulebook on eBay, and will wait to see what happens next. Thank you again for your help :)  


** expired/removed eBay auction **

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