A Field Guide to Chilton's Editions
by David M. Arnold

Since providing the scan of the Chilton's Edition that appears on this website, I have received many e-mails from others who have located these books and wish to know if they have first editions, and what they are worth. While I cannot claim to be an expert in the field of rare books, I have been able to piece together some conclusions about the Chilton's editions. I am providing the information I have for what it's worth, and would greatly appreciate hearing from anyone who can amplify or correct this material. Please feel free to contact me at .

After all the effort of writing Dune, Frank Herbert shopped around for a publisher. All the large publishing houses politely declined to take on his work. Chilton's (whose primary output is automobile maintenance and repair manuals) agreed to publish the book, which went on to become the classic that it is.

Chilton's published Dune from 1965 through 1968. In 1969, Dune Messiah was published by Putnam, which has been the primary publisher of the hardcover editions ever since.

There appear to be three distinct Chilton's editions of Dune. Superficially, they all resemble each other: they are all hardcover, they have the same dust jacket art and the same general layout. These editions are:

The First Edition

Published in 1965 in a limited press run, these books are very rare and very desirable among book collectors and Dune collectors alike. The dimensions on this edition are approximately 9 1/4 x 6 1/2 inches, and a catalog number appears on the copyright page. Mint condition copies of this edition with the dust jacket intact sell at auction for thousands of dollars.

The Book Club Edition

After the inital press run in 1965, it appears that Chilton produced several press runs of the book club edition. The majority of Chilton editions out there are the book club edition. I actually saw 3 copies of this edition lined up for sale at my local used bookstore. The book is of much more interest to Dune collectors than to book collectors.

The dimensions on the book club edition are slightly less than the regular editions: approx. 8 1/2 x 6 inches. The words "Book Club Edition" appear on the bottom of the front flap of the dust jacket. There is no catalog number, nor is there a printing date on the copyright page (see figures 1 & 2). This book sells in used bookstores for under $10.00; however, a rabid Dune collector might pay around $25-$30 for a copy in really good condition.

Figure 1: Missing a printing date and catalog number.	Figure 2: "Book Club Edition" in bottom corner of dust jacket's front flap.

First Edition/Second Printing

In 1968, Chilton's reprised the regular edition of Dune in an edition that is identical to the first edition. There are a fair number of this edition floating around out there, and it is more desirable to book collectors than is the book club edition.

The copyright page of this edition includes the Library of Congress (LoC) Catalog number (65-22547), and the words "First Edition, Second Printing, April, 1968" (see figure 3). A really good copy of this edition could probably fetch a couple hundred dollars from the right buyer.

The value of these editions, indeed of any collectible, is exactly what someone else is willing to pay for it. The best way to discover this value is to put the item up for auction. I have both bought and sold items using EBay, and have been both pleasantly and unpleasantly suprised at the prices they commanded. The values I have quoted above are based on what I have seen transpire on Ebay.