Is My Lest Darkness Fall a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition: Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1941 (published 24 February 1941) — de Camp's first book of fiction
• Identification is by absence of a later-printing note: L. W. Currey's entry records "No statement of printing," and Quill & Brush states that for Henry Holt, "Prior to 1945, first editions can generally be identified by the lack of a later printing statement on the copyright page." The binding is a strong and well-corroborated point: original pictorial black cloth with the front and spine panels stamped in white enamel, top edge stained yellow, and the fore- and bottom edges untrimmed
• Collation per Currey is pp. [i–vi] vii–ix [x–xii] 1–379, [380: blank]. The white enamel stamping flakes and rubs readily, so intact white stamping on both front and spine panels is a condition marker dealers call out specifically; the jacket should be priced at the flap

How Henry Holt and Company marked a first edition

• Pre-1945: identified by the LACK of a later-printing statement on the copyright page.

Full Henry Holt and Company 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 US 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?

US original and the true first edition worldwide; the census claim is correct. It expands the shorter version from Unknown (December 1939), which is a magazine appearance and not a book. The significant trap is the Prime Press (Philadelphia) 1949 edition, which ABAA and other dealers explicitly catalogue as "First Thus" — it is black cloth stamped in gilt and collates 233 pp., quite unlike the Holt sheets, and is a later hardcover reprinting rather than a first edition. Note also that a commonly repeated claim of a 1949 "Galaxy Publishing" reprint does not withstand scrutiny (the Galaxy Novels line did not begin until 1950) and is excluded here.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Any copy bearing the Prime Press imprint (1949) is a reprint, not a first, regardless of how it is described — dealers offering it correctly flag it as "First Thus, First Printing," and that phrase is the tell. The Holt sheets are distinguishable at a glance from all later hardcover issues by the pictorial black cloth stamped in white enamel with yellow-stained top edge and untrimmed fore- and bottom edges. Later Ballantine/Del Rey and other paperback issues carry their own imprints. No contemporaneous book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Lest Darkness Fall a first edition?

A first edition of Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague de Camp (Henry Holt and Company) is identified by: First edition: Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1941 (published 24 February 1941) — de Camp's first book of fiction.

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. US original and the true first edition worldwide; the census claim is correct.

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

Any copy bearing the Prime Press imprint (1949) is a reprint, not a first, regardless of how it is described — dealers offering it correctly flag it as "First Thus, First Printing," and that phrase is the tell. The Holt sheets are distinguishable at a glance from all later hardcover issues by the pictorial black cloth stamped in white enamel with yellow-stained top edge and untrimmed fore- and bottom edges. Later Ballantine/Del Rey and other paperback issues carry their own imprints. No contempo

I have a first edition of Lest Darkness Fall — 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.