Armed Services 2nd Printings

ASE 868

title page

Paul Daniels, a collector from The Netherlands, who owns a very large collection of Armed Services Editions, has documented yet another strange oddity from that cheap line of books (which were distributed only to members of the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II).

Many of the books went into second printing, but their book numbers remained in printing order. The book seen at the left is an example. Book number 868 reprinted book number N-10. While the number changed on the book's cover, the title page duplicated that of the original, including the first printing book number.

(Click an image to see the full scan.)

It apparently happened a lot. Here's the list that Paul compiled from his own collection:

 856 inside:  L-2
 867 inside: N-9
 868 inside: N-10
 869 inside: N-11
 870 inside: N-12
 905 inside: P-5
 906 inside: P-6
 907 inside: P-7
 908 inside: P-8
 923 inside: P-23
 971 inside: Q-31
 972 inside: Q-32
1009 inside: Q-27
1010 inside: Q-28
1091 inside: 745
1092 inside: 746
1093 inside: 747
1094 inside: 748

Another oddity that is well documented among collectors is ASE 717,  Webster's New Handy Dictionary. The second printing lists the number 717 on the cover, but number 718 on the title page.

Thanks, Paul.