An Issue Point for the first hardcover of Jack Finney's THE BODY SNATCHERS

Jack Finney's second novel, The Body Snatchers, was first serialized in shortened form in Collier's magazine in three parts, from 26 November to 24 December 1954. The full novel appeared as a pocked-sized paperback original from Dell, on 1 February 1955. The first hardcover edition came out in England from Eyre & Spottiswoode on 16 September 1955. The novel was filmed as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and released in the US on 5 February 1956. Aside from a Beacon Books (London) paperback edition of 1957, virtually all of the later editions appear under the film's title.

Many book collectors are especially interested in the first hardcover edition of the book. It is known to exists in two issue points. One is the regular book in dust-wrapper (priced 10s 6d at the lower right of the front flap; the publisher does not seem to have released a remainder edition); the other includes an additional advertising band placed over the dust-wrapper. The question remains, is there a priority of issue? 

The advertising band is just an add-on to the book (click to make it larger).

 

The Body Snatchers was part of a series from Eyre & Spottiswoode that began in March of 1955. The series was called by the publisher "Thrillers of the Month"--which is confusing in terms of the monthly award for "Thriller of the Month" as given out by the London newspaper, The Star.  In the 8 July 1955 issue of The Guardian, Eyre & Spottiswoode published an advertisement listing the first eight books in their series, including The Body Snatchers at number six. 

The award from The Star, the London evening newspaper which ceased in 1960 when it was merged with its rival the Evening News, was apparently not a well-publicized award (at least beyond The Star). The first book I know of that won it was Marjorie Bremner's Murder Most Familiar (Hodder & Stoughton, 1953). The award was apparently overseen by Joseph Taggart, the book reviewer at The Star throughout most of the 1950s. In other newspapers of the time (I have not been able to consult The Star itself), some publishers would advertise their offerings as "The Star Thriller of the Month." Titles from 1955 so designated include Patricia Wentworth's Vanishing Point (Hodder & Stoughton, published 23 June 1955, advertised in July), Mark Corrigan's, The Big Squeeze (Angus & Robertson. published 31 August 1955, advertised in August and September), and E.R. Punshon's  Triple Quest (Gollancz, published 14 November 1955, advertised in November). Apparently, in comparison with these titles, The Body Snatchers would likely have been the September or October 1955 selection. 

 
The award was announced before the publication of The Body Snatchers on 16 September, so the question remains how, and under what circumstances, were the bands applied? They are generic for any book (i.e., the title of the winner is not mentioned) so one suspects that The Star supplied the publisher with the bands (the band promotes The Star, not any particular book).  We do not know whether this was done before publication or soon after. Thus the question of when books with the bands were issued may be unsolvable. Rare book dealers like to note that copies with the publicity band are very rare (and that its presence justifies a significantly higher price than on copies without the band), but I'm not sure that having the band, as something initiated not by the publisher, and appearing only on some not all copies, is that desirable as a collectible item.  Sure, if one came on a reasonably priced nice copy of the first edition in dust-wrapper, I wouldn't object, but I wouldn't pay any premium for it, when it could easily have come from a copy of a different winner of "The Star Thriller of the Month", the band being married belatedly to the Finney book. My two cents.