Hi Everyone.  I found something quite interesting when I was reviewing my Gary Gygax signed copy of the Dungeon Masters Guide which claims to be the second copy distributed after Gary's own copy.  In reviewing the copy, it has elements that are only known in first copies (spine inlay is yellow and red striped fabric and text block is 5/8" apart).  But, it also has items that are not known among first copies (the "D" of "ADVANCED" in the angled yellow banner does not run off the cover).   I thought I would reach out to see if anyone else has encountered this and if this should possibly be listed on Acaeum.  I am including a couple of pictures if they post.  The copy is used and the first cover is a bit worn.   Could this be a pre production run?  Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

I am glad you pointed that out Mark.  I was going to add that also.  I did actually find the product code on the edge.  the 2011 is there barely and is partially worn off.  I have never seen the Wizard Logo and the address that close to the bottom.  Is this a misprint of the cover?  Do you think after the first copies they adjusted the cover so that the product code and address were not falling off the bottom and that pushed the D in ADVANCED off the top?

That would make sense.  It does appear to just be a shift in the print.  Thanks for catching that.

That is a great example of the shifts in prints.  I would be interested to know if someone has Gary's first copy of the DMG and if it looks like mine.  I guess mine is an example of a 1st Print that does not have the D in ADVANCED off the top edge of the book.

The original owner, Jim Lamb, was selling it on EBay.  I did make an offer which he accepted.

Thank you.

That is good to know.  It appears this is more common than I thought.  Should the Acaeum description be updated to reflect this since not all First Prints have the D off the edge?  Second, is it believed that these just randomly occurred in the printing process with different levels of offset variations or, if we were to put the copies together that do not have the D off the edge, was there enough consistency in those copies that they may have constituted a small print run with that variation?  I would probably think it would be the former but I was wondering if anyone knew about the process.

Melnibonean wrote in Dungeon Masters Guide First Alpha Print?: is it believed that these just randomly occurred in the printing process with different levels of offset variations or, if we were to put the copies together that do not have the D off the edge, was there enough consistency in those copies that they may have constituted a small print run with that variation?  I would probably think it would be the former but I was wondering if anyone knew about the process.

Certainly. The process could be described scientifically in terms of the Double-Slit Experiment in quantum physics, whereby the random passage of an elementary particle through one of two apertures leads to rationalization as simultaneous existence in both possible outcomes. From here we go to theories of parallel universes, the idea that we create reality with our own minds, & Einstein's objection that "God does not play dice with the universe." (An assertion which, of course, led to the eventual formulation of role-playing games in order to determine the answer. ibid. Pp. 636-684 et al.) As we are discussing the manufacture of bound, printed materials, it is perhaps best to examine the problem in context of modern industrial applications for quantum physics, such as lasers or the boxes used to produce undead zombie cats. Closer still would be the question of whether dice throws undertaken in role-playing games are ever truly random, relating to whether information is ever truly lost in extreme environments such as a black hole. In toto, the answer to your question (whether it is possible to determine today in 2014 the random motions of a printing press which occurred somewhere in the Upper Midwest in 1979), is of course I don't know.

Howdy,


One of the problems with the Acaeum description is that it does not reference that there is actually a size difference in the font on the banner.
The "D" running off the edge is only a gross indicator, the true acid test is the measurements of the text within the banner. From my original post on the subject:

The DMG I designate as the 1st Print is the only version of the DMG to have a 2" wide "Advanced" in the yellow banner on
the cover. All other versions of the DMG have a 1 3/4" "Advanced". The height of the stacked, 2" "Advanced" over "D&D" is 5/8".
In all other versions of the DMG the stacked height is 9/16". What this really means is that the font size was reduced by 1 or 2 points.

The full post can be found here:

Essay on New DMG 1st Print


Futures Bright,

Paul