# Is "Beyond the Wall of Sleep" by H.P. Lovecraft a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Beyond the Wall of Sleep by H.P. Lovecraft (Arkham House, 1943) is identified by: Second Arkham House Lovecraft omnibus and the fourth Arkham House book overall; edition of 1,217 copies, black cloth gilt-lettered on the spine, dust jacket carrying the printed price. The 1,217-copy 1943 printing is the true first; never reprinted in this form.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Second Arkham House Lovecraft omnibus and the fourth Arkham House book overall; edition of 1,217 copies, black cloth gilt-lettered on the spine, dust jacket carrying the printed price
- Single printing
- Publisher imprint reads Arkham House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | H.P. Lovecraft |
| Publisher | Arkham House |
| Year | 1943 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Second Arkham House Lovecraft omnibus and the fourth Arkham House book overall; edition of 1,217 copies, black cloth gilt-lettered on the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Second Arkham House Lovecraft omnibus and the fourth Arkham House book overall; edition of 1,217 copies, black cloth gilt-lettered on the spine, dust jacket carrying the printed price. Single printing.

## Is this the true first?
The 1,217-copy 1943 printing is the true first; never reprinted in this form. A notably smaller run than The Outsider and Others.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition exists; contents were later redistributed across the corrected Arkham collections. A genuine 1943 copy is the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Beyond the Wall of Sleep* by H.P. Lovecraft a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/beyond-the-wall-of-sleep
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.