The Thomas Berryman Number

The Thomas Berryman Number by James Patterson. Little, Brown & Co., 1976. First edition has the slug
T 03/76 under 'First Edition' on the copyright page. Octavo in blue and black paper boards. Jacket price on $7.95 in the upper corner of the front fold. Rear photo of Patterson makes him look like some lovelorn dope who just got gilted by his high school sweetheart.

This copy is ex-library, as it's a difficult book to find in non-library markings. Little, Brown used a heavy stock for the jacket, which means that it resists edgewear better than many first novels of this period. The book, however, being in full paper binding, including the spine backstrap, means that the book does not fare quite so well. Finding a truly Fine copy would be very expensive and difficult.

One option for such a rare book is to buy an ex-library copy such as this, then have it rebound with a high-quality material, such as leather, to not only restore its glory but make it a unique copy.