# Is "Grimscribe: His Lives and Works" by Thomas Ligotti a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Grimscribe: His Lives and Works by Thomas Ligotti (Robinson Publishing, London, 1991) is identified by: The Robinson (London, 1991) first edition is an octavo bound in publisher's boards with a pictorial dust jacket, ISBN 1-85487-090-4; L.W. Both 1991 hardcovers are collected, but the UK Robinson Publishing edition has priority: the American issue's own title-page verso states "First published in Great Britain 1991," and Currey records the Robinson book as the first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The Robinson (London, 1991) first edition is an octavo bound in publisher's boards with a pictorial dust jacket, ISBN 1-85487-090-4
- L.W. Currey (ABAA) catalogues it flatly as "First edition," with no qualifier
- The Carroll & Graf (New York, 1991) issue is a 214 pp. octavo, ISBN 0-88184-739-9; library cataloguing of that issue records the title-page verso reading "First published in Great Britain 1991" — the standard acknowledgement of prior British publication, and the point that settles precedence
- Dealer descriptions of the US issue note a purple spine lettered in white and a pictorial jacket with the price present at the flap
- Neither 1991 hardcover is reported to carry a number line, so identification rests on the imprint, the copyright-page wording, and the jacket; no first-state text errors are documented for either issue
- Publisher imprint reads Robinson Publishing, London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Thomas Ligotti |
| Publisher | Robinson Publishing, London |
| Year | 1991 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The Robinson (London, 1991) first edition is an octavo bound in publisher's boards with a pictorial dust jacket, ISBN 1-85487-090-4 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The Robinson (London, 1991) first edition is an octavo bound in publisher's boards with a pictorial dust jacket, ISBN 1-85487-090-4; L.W. Currey (ABAA) catalogues it flatly as "First edition," with no qualifier. The Carroll & Graf (New York, 1991) issue is a 214 pp. octavo, ISBN 0-88184-739-9; library cataloguing of that issue records the title-page verso reading "First published in Great Britain 1991" — the standard acknowledgement of prior British publication, and the point that settles precedence. Dealer descriptions of the US issue note a purple spine lettered in white and a pictorial jacket with the price present at the flap. Neither 1991 hardcover is reported to carry a number line, so identification rests on the imprint, the copyright-page wording, and the jacket; no first-state text errors are documented for either issue.

## Is this the true first?
Both 1991 hardcovers are collected, but the UK Robinson Publishing edition has priority: the American issue's own title-page verso states "First published in Great Britain 1991," and Currey records the Robinson book as the first edition. Month-level publication dates for the two 1991 printings are not published, so the Carroll & Graf book is correctly described as the first American edition, not the first edition. The census claim (Robinson precedes Carroll & Graf) is confirmed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue is documented for either 1991 hardcover. The Jove mass-market paperback (October 1994) is a reprint. Two "first thus" traps: Subterranean Press issued a revised, author-approved text (2011), and Penguin Classics reprinted that revised text in the 2015 omnibus with Songs of a Dead Dreamer (foreword by Jeff VanderMeer) — neither is a first edition of the 1991 text.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Grimscribe: His Lives and Works* by Thomas Ligotti a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/grimscribe-his-lives-and-works
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.