Is My Hell House a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first-printing copyright page reads "First published in 1971 by The Viking Press, Inc." with no mention of any subsequent printing; that absence is the point dealers rely on, as later Viking printings add a printing statement
• The binding is black paper-covered boards quarter/half-bound in navy blue cloth, the spine lettered in silver and blue-violet, with a violet top edge
• 279 pp., octavo (approximately 8.3 x 5.9 inches)
• SBN 670-36585-8
• The dust jacket is illustrated in grey and blue with black lettering to the front panel and spine, and should be present unclipped with the price at the flap

How The Viking Press, New York marked a first edition

• Earliest era (1925 to roughly 1937): Viking used no first-edition statement and instead noted later printings; treat the absence of any later-printing notice, with the title-page/copyright dates matching, as the first.
• From about 1937 onward: first printings state "First published by The Viking Press in [year]" or "Published by The Viking Press in [year]" with no later-printing notice; later printings were noted, and from the 1980s a n…

Full The Viking Press, New York first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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 US Viking Press hardcover of 1971 is the true first and the only collected hardcover first. No contemporary British hardcover is recorded in the sources consulted — the British edition was a Corgi paperback (London, 1973, 248 pp. plus advertisements), issued around the time of the film The Legend of Hell House — so the census claim that the Viking hardcover is the sole collected state is confirmed.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No specific book-club issue point is documented in the sources consulted for this title. The distinguishing check between a first and a later printing is the copyright page alone: a second printing is catalogued as such by dealers but shares the same binding (dark blue cloth over black paper boards, silver and blue spine lettering) and the same grey-and-blue jacket, so binding and jacket cannot separate them.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Hell House a first edition?

A first edition of Hell House by Richard Matheson (The Viking Press, New York) is identified by: The first-printing copyright page reads "First published in 1971 by The Viking Press, Inc." with no mention of any subsequent printing; that absence is the point dealers rely on, as later Viking printings add a printing statement.

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 US Viking Press hardcover of 1971 is the true first and the only collected hardcover first.

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

No specific book-club issue point is documented in the sources consulted for this title. The distinguishing check between a first and a later printing is the copyright page alone: a second printing is catalogued as such by dealers but shares the same binding (dark blue cloth over black paper boards, silver and blue spine lettering) and the same grey-and-blue jacket, so binding and jacket cannot separate them.

I have a first edition of Hell House — 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.