Is My Copy of 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. 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.P-042238

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.

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.

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. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.