Is My Death of a Ghost a First Edition?

The points of issue

• CONFIRMED. The true first is William Heinemann Ltd, London, 1934; the Library of Congress catalogues it as "London, W. Heinemann, ltd. [1934]", the square brackets indicating the year is not printed on the title page
• Under the Heinemann rule in force from the 1920s, a first states "First published [Year]" or "First published in Great Britain [Year]" on the copyright page and notes later impressions beneath it; there is no number line, so a copy showing the first-published statement with no "reprinted" or "second impression" line under it is the first
• The Classic Crime Fiction first-edition checklist records the binding as blue boards lettered in silver with a priced jacket (price present at the flap); that binding description is single-sourced here and was not independently corroborated
• The first American edition is Doubleday, Doran for The Crime Club, Garden City, N.Y., 1934, which retains the UK title; the Library of Congress notes it has an "Illustrated t.-p. and lining-papers" — an illustrated title page and illustrated endpapers that the London issue does not share — and under the Doubleday, Doran rule it states "First Edition" on the copyright page, with no statement on later printings

How Heinemann marked a first edition

• From the 1920s onward: "First published [Year]" or "First published in Great Britain [Year]" stated on the copyright page, with later impressions noted beneath
• First printing = statement present AND no list of subsequent impressions

Full Heinemann 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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
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?

UK precedes US and the census claim is confirmed. Heinemann, London, February 1934 is the true first — the month is double-sourced, given by both the Margery Allingham Society and Wikipedia's article on the novel, and the Library of Congress's UK record is consistent with it. Doubleday, Doran for The Crime Club, Garden City, N.Y., 1934 is the first American edition and is collected in its own right — name both. The title was not changed for the US market, so unlike Sweet Danger there is no retitle trap here; the trap is instead that the US Crime Club issue is far commoner than the London issue and is often described simply as "the 1934 first". Later Heinemann, Penguin, Bantam, Carroll & Graf and Felony & Mayhem issues are reprints.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The Doubleday/Crime Club book-club tells apply to the US issue and are well documented: an unpriced front jacket flap or "Book Club Edition" printed at the flap, a blind stamp debossed into the rear board near the spine, and a five-digit code in a white block on the jacket rear. Note one specific reprint trap recorded by the Library of Congress: the American Reprint Co. issue (New York, 1976) is catalogued "c1937" and as a "Reprint of the ed. published by Doubleday, Garden City, N.Y." — its 1937 copyright line is not a first-edition date. No UK book-club issue points specific to this title are documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Death of a Ghost a first edition?

A first edition of Death of a Ghost by Margery Allingham (Heinemann) is identified by: The true first is William Heinemann Ltd, London, 1934; the Library of Congress catalogues it as "London, W.

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

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). UK precedes US and the census claim is confirmed.

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

The Doubleday/Crime Club book-club tells apply to the US issue and are well documented: an unpriced front jacket flap or "Book Club Edition" printed at the flap, a blind stamp debossed into the rear board near the spine, and a five-digit code in a white block on the jacket rear. Note one specific reprint trap recorded by the Library of Congress: the American Reprint Co. issue (New York, 1976) is catalogued "c1937" and as a "Reprint of the ed. published by Doubleday, Garden City, N.Y." — its 1937

I have a first edition of Death of a Ghost — 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.