# Is "Clive Barker's Books of Blood, Volume 1" by Clive Barker a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Clive Barker's Books of Blood, Volume 1 by Clive Barker (Sphere Books, 1984) is identified by: Sphere paperback original, London, 1984, cover the printed price. The 1984 Sphere paperback original is the true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Sphere paperback original, London, 1984, cover the printed price
- First printings carry the distinctive distorted mirror-effect front cover; later Sphere printings substitute covers reproducing Clive Barker's own paintings taken from the Weidenfeld & Nicolson jacket art
- Publisher imprint reads Sphere Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Clive Barker |
| Publisher | Sphere Books |
| Year | 1984 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Sphere paperback original, London, 1984, cover the printed price |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Sphere paperback original, London, 1984, cover the printed price. First printings carry the distinctive distorted mirror-effect front cover; later Sphere printings substitute covers reproducing Clive Barker's own paintings taken from the Weidenfeld & Nicolson jacket art.

## Is this the true first?
The 1984 Sphere paperback original is the true first edition. The Weidenfeld & Nicolson hardcover followed in 1985 (with a 200-copy signed and boxed limited issue) and is the first hardcover, not a simultaneous first. US editions, including the Berkley paperback and the illustrated Scream/Press limited, came later.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The 1985 Weidenfeld & Nicolson hardcover is often misdescribed as the true first, and later Sphere printings with the painting covers are commonly offered as firsts; the mirror-effect cover marks the first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Clive Barker's Books of Blood, Volume 1* by Clive Barker a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/clive-barkers-books-of-blood-volume-1
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.