Is My Dark Entries a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Aickman's first solo collection, gathering six stories: "The School Friend," "Ringing the Changes," "Choice of Weapons," "The Waiting Room," "The View," and "Bind Your Hair." Octavo, in the publisher's original tan cloth lettered in gilt on the spine — corroborated independently by two dealers — and issued in the original priced dust wrapper, with the price present at the front flap
• The first impression carries no later-impression or reprint notice
• Collins practice of the period places the date on the title leaf with reprint notices added on the verso, so a copy with a reprint line is not the first
• Recorded in Tymn (ed.), Horror Literature, 4-2
• Routinely called Aickman's scarcest book, and jacketed copies are correspondingly hard to find
• Page count could not be confirmed from the sources consulted, and a report of a later Collins impression in brown cloth with gilt spine lettering surfaced but could not be independently verified — treat it as unconfirmed

How Collins, London marked a first edition

• First editions either carry NO additional printing statement on the copyright page or state "First published [Year]" — practice was not fully consistent, so confirm with jacket/ad dating
• Later printings noted with impression lines; their absence supports a first

Full Collins, London first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The UK Collins issue of 1964 is the true first, and the census claim is correct: there was no contemporary US edition. American readers reached the contents only decades later, via Tartarus Press's The Collected Strange Stories (1999) and the Faber reissue of 2014 — both first thus, neither a first of Dark Entries.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented. The recurring trap is the Fontana mass-market paperback (Collins' paperback imprint), which dealers catalogue under the Collins name and sometimes list as a "1964 First Edition" — it is a paperback reprint, not the first, and the cloth-and-jacket description above is what separates them. The Tartarus Press and Faber reprints are likewise not firsts.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Dark Entries a first edition?

A first edition of Dark Entries by Robert Aickman (Collins, London) is identified by: Aickman's first solo collection, gathering six stories: "The School Friend," "Ringing the Changes," "Choice of Weapons," "The Waiting Room," "The View," and "Bind Your Hair." Octavo, in the publisher's original tan cloth lettered in gilt on the spine — corroborated independently by two dealers — and issued in the original priced dust wrapper, with the price present at the front flap.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The UK Collins issue of 1964 is the true first, and the census claim is correct: there was no contemporary US edition.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club issue is documented. The recurring trap is the Fontana mass-market paperback (Collins' paperback imprint), which dealers catalogue under the Collins name and sometimes list as a "1964 First Edition" — it is a paperback reprint, not the first, and the cloth-and-jacket description above is what separates them. The Tartarus Press and Faber reprints are likewise not firsts.

I have a first edition of Dark Entries — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.