# Is "Camp Concentration" by Thomas M. Disch a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Camp Concentration by Thomas M. Disch (Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd., London, 1968) is identified by: The first printing states "First published 1968" on the copyright page with no later-impression line. The UK Rupert Hart-Davis edition of 1968 is the true first book edition and precedes the US first (Doubleday, Garden City, New York, 1969) by a year — the census claim is correct and is confirmed independently by L.W.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first printing states "First published 1968" on the copyright page with no later-impression line
- Octavo, 177 pages, bound in scarlet publisher's cloth with gilt titling to the spine
- The dust jacket carries a silver and scarlet alchemical design, jacket design credited to Ken Reilly; the jacket is priced, with the price present at the flap on unclipped copies
- Signed prepublication uncorrected proof copies of the Hart-Davis edition are recorded and precede the published book
- Publisher imprint reads Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd., London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Thomas M. Disch |
| Publisher | Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd., London |
| Year | 1968 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first printing states "First published 1968" on the copyright page with no later-impression line |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The first printing states "First published 1968" on the copyright page with no later-impression line. Octavo, 177 pages, bound in scarlet publisher's cloth with gilt titling to the spine. The dust jacket carries a silver and scarlet alchemical design, jacket design credited to Ken Reilly; the jacket is priced, with the price present at the flap on unclipped copies. Signed prepublication uncorrected proof copies of the Hart-Davis edition are recorded and precede the published book.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Rupert Hart-Davis edition of 1968 is the true first book edition and precedes the US first (Doubleday, Garden City, New York, 1969) by a year — the census claim is correct and is confirmed independently by L.W. Currey and Burnside Rare Books. Both editions are collected, the Hart-Davis as the true first and the Doubleday as the first American. Note the genuine first appearance of the text is serial, not book: Camp Concentration ran as a four-part serial in New Worlds, July–October 1967, under Michael Moorcock's editorship, so the magazine appearance precedes both book editions.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue of the Hart-Davis UK first is documented. Book-club tells apply on the US side: Doubleday-era club printings of this period are identified by a blind-stamped square or similar device at the lower corner of the rear board, absence of any price at the jacket flap, "Book Club Edition" printed at the jacket flap corner, and frequently a smaller trim than the trade issue. Doubleday used gutter codes on the last page of text for both trade and club printings from 1958 to mid-1987, which can further separate the two.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Camp Concentration* by Thomas M. Disch a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/camp-concentration
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.