# Is "Dark Carnival" by Ray Bradbury a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Dark Carnival by Ray Bradbury (Arkham House, 1947) is identified by: Arkham House first edition, printed by the Collegiate Press under August Derleth's editorial direction; the colophon states an edition of 3,000 though roughly 3,112 copies were actually printed. The US Arkham House edition is the true first; the abridged UK Hamish Hamilton edition followed in 1948.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Arkham House first edition, printed by the Collegiate Press under August Derleth's editorial direction; the colophon states an edition of 3,000 though roughly 3,112 copies were actually printed
- Bound in publisher's black Holliston Novelex cloth with the spine lettered in gilt; the pictorial dust jacket was designed by George Barrows and should retain its printed price on the flap
- The collection gathers twenty-seven stories, sixteen of them drawn from Weird Tales
- This is Bradbury's first book
- Publisher imprint reads Arkham House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ray Bradbury |
| Publisher | Arkham House |
| Year | 1947 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Arkham House first edition, printed by the Collegiate Press under August Derleth's editorial direction; the colophon states an edition of… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Arkham House first edition, printed by the Collegiate Press under August Derleth's editorial direction; the colophon states an edition of 3,000 though roughly 3,112 copies were actually printed. Bound in publisher's black Holliston Novelex cloth with the spine lettered in gilt; the pictorial dust jacket was designed by George Barrows and should retain its printed price on the flap. The collection gathers twenty-seven stories, sixteen of them drawn from Weird Tales. This is Bradbury's first book.

## Is this the true first?
The US Arkham House edition is the true first; the abridged UK Hamish Hamilton edition followed in 1948.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
There is no contemporary book club edition; the Gauntlet Press reprint appeared much later.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Dark Carnival* by Ray Bradbury a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/dark-carnival
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.