grodog wrote:Distributor catalogs and announcements in Dragon and Different Worlds (which were probably the two broadest reviewing magazines at the times) would be two good places to start.
Geoffrey wrote:Does anyone know how I could find out the exact month that old (1974-1983) TSR items were released? Typically all I can find are years, and even the publication dates printed in the books can be wrong. For example, the Moldvay Basic D&D rulebook says it was first printed in January 1981. There is no way it was released that early, though. It couldn't have been released until the summer of 1981 at the earliest. One thing I've tried is searching my Dragon CDs for release dates and earliest mentions, and that helps, but it leaves something to be desired.
Geoffrey wrote:There are two specific items I am particularly wondering about:First and most importantly, the month that the AD&D Deities & Demigods Cyclopedia hit the shelves.Second, the month that the Moldvay Basic D&D set hit the shelves.
chromaticknight wrote:My sixth print PHB, with yellow flyleaves, does not list the Deities & Demigods. I also have a PHB with white flyleaves that does not list it. I assume this one falls somewhere inbetween the 6th and 7th prints listed here.
grodog wrote:The file itself is at http://ant.hivemind.net/Products_2008-12-30.xls and I thought folks might want to check it out. I've done a cursory scan of it, and while I would quibble with some of the dates, it looks like a good start.