Golden Guide To Stars

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The Hardcovers:

Stars was the fourth Golden Guide published. The first hardcover printing of Stars has the number 593 on the spine of the dustjacket, but not on the book. Copyright 1951 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. and Artists and Writers Guild, Inc. Printed in the U.S.A. by Western Printing and Lithographing Company. The book itself has Solar System decorated boards. The front endpaper is titled Inside The Solar System. And the back endpaper is titled Outside The Solar System. The dustjacket and title page state 150 Paintings In Color. My copy has the letter B on the inside flap of the DJ. A first edition should have an A on the flap. Price listed on the flap is $1.50. Listed as a Golden Nature Guide.

The next edition of Stars in hardcover is a revised edition. © Copyright 1956, 1951 by Golden Press, Inc. On the inside flap of the DJ is a price of $2.50. The letter S on page 160. Number on the spine of DJ and book is 593. Endpapers were changed to the animal related endpapers.

The last version of Stars in hardcover is the Permaseal edition published in 1951 by Simon & Schuster. On the inside front cover is the code A100100. That makes it a first printing (of this version) with a price of $1.00. It has the Solar System endpapers. This is the last Golden Press Permaseal edition published.

Two versions of Stars were published in a large (5 ¼ by 7 ¾ inch) hardcover. The first version is like image #1. The number 63507 is on the back cover. The second cover is the revised edition. The number 0-307-63507-4 is on the back cover.

The Softcovers:

The first softcover edition of Stars probably was issued about the same time as the HC edition. Numbered 493 and published in 1951 by Simon & Schuster. This edition has the same cover as the hardcover. The Solar System endpapers are present as free endpapers one page in. 160 pages with the addition of logo page and dummy title page in front, and one blank page for notes in back adjacent to endpapers. My copy has B100100 at bottom left corner of the inside front cover. No price listed for this book. The inside front and inside back cover has the new Big Four logo. The only difference between this one and the one in the Insects book is they changed the color to blue.

The first revised edition of Stars in softcover has an I100100 on the inside front cover and an A on page 160. That would make this edition a first revised printing and ninth printing overall. © Copyright 1956, 1951 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. The Solar System endpapers and the Big Four logo are gone. No cover price.

The first Golden Press edition of Stars has the letter Q on page 160. © Copyright 1956, 1951 by Golden Press, Inc. Stated revised edition. The cover price appears as 493:100.

The first cover change to Stars has the number 24493 on the spine and dated 1956. Cover price is $1.25. No printing history can be found. No longer called a revised edition. But the date of 1956 tells me that it is.

The next change to Stars is a cover change for a revised edition published in 1975. Cover price of $1.95 and letter code on page 160 is OO. This is a second revision of Stars. In the forward it states: "Isaac Asimov, Joe & Simone Gosner are to be credited for the latest revisions". At first glance it appears the cover art changed slightly. But on closer examination it is a completely new cover. James Gordon Irving is credited with both covers.

The last change to Stars is another revised edition published in 1985. This is the third revised edition. In the forward it states: "Mark R. Chartrand prepared the latest revisions. Twelve new illustrations by Howard Friedman have been added for this edition." My copy has the letter A on the last page. Cover (sticker) price is $2.95.

A French version of Stars was issued with the title Etoiles. © Golden Press, Inc., New York, 1956, 1951. Publié par les Editions Graphiques Internationales (E.G.I.), Paris. Paris. From the last page: Inprimé en Italie. The contents are virtually identical to the American version, except for the language changed to French. The cover is similar to the second cover variant.

A German version of Stars was issued with the title Sterne. Number 6 in the series. © 1956, 1951 by Golden Press, Inc., New York. Alle deutschen Rechte vorbehalten © Delphin Verlag, Stuttgart und Zürich. Printed in Italy by O.G.A. Mondadori, Verona. The contents are virtually identical to the American version, except for the language changed to German. The cover is identical to the Golden Press version.

The next version is the British version of Stars. Published by Paul Hamlyn Ltd. by arrangement with Golden Press, Inc. © 1951, 1956, Golden Press, Inc. First published 1965. My copy is a second impression 1965. The contents are the same as the American edition. Printed in Italy by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore - Verona.

A Norwegian version of Stars exists titled Stjerner. Norsk utgare ved observator Rolf Brahde Astrofysisk Institutt Oslo Universitet. Det Lille Universitet Fredhøis Forlag A/S- Oslo. Utgitt 1965 av Fredhøis Forlag A/S- Oslo, etter artale med Golden Press, Inc. © 1956. Alle rettigheter forbeholdt- Trykket: Italia. Arnoldo Mondadori editore- Verona.


Stars Golden Guide