what's up with the isbn Amazon has for a non re-printed book from 1955?

0883090732 is the isbn Amazon has for an old book I have

http://www.librarything.com/work/2090677, Alphabet Antics for Cursive Handwriting.

I was at the author combination page for it, http://www.librarything.com/combine.php?author=zanerbloser

and happened to notice that one of the two copies of Alphabet Antics had an isbn...which caught my eye as I am the owner of both copies, and I knew it was so old it didn't have one. Is Amazon issuing isbn's for other vintage & out-of-print books, too?

Or am I just the last to know?

Amazon can't and doesn't issue ISBNs.

WorldCat also lists the book with an ISBN. The entry shows a copyright date of 1955, but that doesn't mean that was the only printing.

The one with the ISBN must be a reprint. A reprinted book might not show any date other than the copyright.

Try and use this website, it may help you to locate reprints for books before 1955.

ISBNdb.com project is a database of books providing on-line and remote research tools for individuals, ......

http://www.isbndb.com

1 > I found another copy of this book & combined them. It's probable your copies are the ones without ISBNs, and the other party has the reprint with the ISBN.

I believe all books published before 1955 do not have ISBN numbers'

Some publishers must have registered with the ISBN authoriy body as their "unique" catalog code for that book.

If you check @ the website at message 4, the number - 0883090732 allocated to Amazon.com.

I think so, I might be wrong.

6 > I did check that website. It doesn't have that ISBN in its database. At the bottom of the page, it asks if you want to search on Amazon for that number, and Amazon does have a listing for that ISBN assigned to that title published by Zaner-Bloser .

Book sellers cannot and do not assign ISBNs. ISBNs are acquired by publishers. Publishers can and do reprint titles with no changes at all from the original except for the addition of an ISBN. I have examples of that in my own library. Sometimes it will indicate the reprint date, but sometimes the only date is the copyright. Literally, it's printed from the same plates with no changes except the addition of the ISBN.

Frequently Asked Questions about the ISBN
http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/us/isbnqa.asp

About the ISBN
http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/about/index.html

If Amazon is also a publisher of the book, a reprint of Alphabet Antics for Cursive Writing , I think that they can also obtained a different ISBN number for the same book. Maybe,Amazon can clarify the issue.

Some publishers do make reprints of old books especially classics( having expired copyrighted dates and rare books(entirely from the different printing plates or other means.

I have some books published by Border, with Border's trademark on the books carrying ISBN numbers maybe they unique only to Border's reprints or editions.

For example: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields have many editions/formats/reprints if you can check with the website.

0-670-85309-7 ( Hardback) Penguin Books USA Copyright 1993 Printed 1995

0 14.02.3313X ( Paperback) Penguin Books USA

Note: This thread is posted not for any augment"s sake but to understand this matter.

Yes: "same" book by different publisher will have different ISBN. And hardcover vs. paperback too. And true, if Amazon also acts as the publisher for a reprint of that title, they may have given that reprint an ISBN.

Checking further:

The full ISBN number is 13-9780883090732 for Alphabet Antics For Cursive Handwriting

Use to search with any used/online bookstores , use 0883090732 or 9780883090732.
This will lead to the book's title. It shows a publisher as Zaner-Bloser.( now an education study company)

www.zaner-bloser.com

It can be a reprint of the first printing made in 1955, now have a ISBN number allocated printed after 1955. ( ??? ).

Yes a reprint of a pre-ISBN book* can have an ISBN even if it's otherwise unchanged. I have several examples in my library. For example my copy of Foundations of modern art has a stated date of 1952 and an ISBN (the publisher simply still used the date of their first publication of that title).

* ISBN came in c. 1970

The book in question is clearly listed on Amazon and everywhere else as being published by Zener-Bloser. Zener-Bloser obtained the ISBN for the reprint. Amazon, as a seller but not publisher of the book, has nothing to do with getting an ISBN for it.

Pre-ISBN books are regularly republished with ISBNs. There's nothing mysterious about it.

Not sure what you mean about cataloging books in the "proper order." An ISBN is an indicator of publisher and of particular edition issued by that publisher. It's essentially an inventory number, a specialized version of the Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode that's on just about everything else you purchase. Publishers purchase batches of ISBNs (by the thousands, sometimes) but have no need or obligation to use them in numerical order.

I am not stating that you are wrong. If ISBN is only an "inventory number" by a different publisher of the same book, having different ISBN by different publishers. In this case, catalog a book with printed ISBN (usually on the book cover's- back),"...in the proper order" - I meant the books I cataloged have the indicated ISBN numbers as shown on the books.

I can be assured that you are more expert in the use and purpose of ISBN and any other code numbers issued by ISBN body.

This thread is posted by me to clear my ( ???) about the importance and use of ISBN. To me, now I can ignore the use of ISBN numbers for my book catalog, ISBN is only useful and important when you want to locate the book online in order to purchase the correct edition, or format of the book. Bow I know that ISBNs are useful for the publishers to use in the book trade .I am only a novice on this subject,

ISBNs are also used by LibraryThing to help with autocombining. You can ignore ISBNs in your own personal catalog if you choose, but if you load a record with an ISBN that doesn't match your book, it will occasionally cause an auto-combine with a work that doesn't match yours. It also means that if LT ever gets an edition level, your books will be combined in with the edition matching your ISBN, not with the actual edition of the book.

If you care about having your library accurate in a possible future editions module, then you must make sure the ISBN on your record matches the ISBN on your book. You can change the ISBN to match your book if it doesn't or blank it out if your book doesn't have a number.

If you don't care about that and you don't mind the occasional auto-combining glitch, you can ignore the ISBN on the record

>5 PhaedraB: PhaedraB I don't think these are the same work, as they have different titles...Animal Antics for Cursive Handwriting now combined with Alphabet Antics for Cursive Handwriting

http://www.librarything.com/work/2090677/book/5278987 Animal Antics...
http://www.librarything.com/work/2090677/book/9556979 Alphabet Antics...

Shouldn't they be separated?

>16 SaintSunniva:: Fair enough. Not a clue what "Animal Antics for Cursive Handwriting" would be supposed to mean - your gerbil does calligraphy? - but separated now.

p.s.: it doesn't change the fact that one entry has an ISBN while the other has not.

16 > You are probably correct. I shouldn't try to do combining/separating late at night!