Is My Copy of More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Octavo (approx. 217 x 153 mm), collating vii, 274 pp., bound in original grey pictorial cloth stamped in black with the distinctive bat design, and with white endpapers — the grey cloth and black bat are the primary binding point
• Seven stories: 'A School Story,' 'The Rose Garden,' 'The Tractate Middoth,' 'Casting the Runes,' 'The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral,' 'Martin's Close,' and 'Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance.' Arnold printed no edition statement, so the 1911 title-page date and the binding carry the identification
• Rear matter varies between copies — cataloguers record a two-page advertisement for Ghost Stories of an Antiquary and, in some copies, an Arnold catalogue dated Autumn 1911 (one dealer reports 24 pp.); because the inserted catalogue varies, its presence or length is corroborative only and is not by itself a reliable edition test

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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 American 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?

London, Edward Arnold, 1911 is the first edition and the only period edition traced. Its predecessor volume is Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (Arnold, 1904). No contemporary American edition of this title is recorded by the dealers, Arnold's own advertising, or the reference works checked; the stories first reached American readers in bulk through The Collected Ghost Stories (Longmans, Green, New York, 1931).

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 1911 Arnold edition. The recurring trap is the combined volume: many later editions print Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904) and More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1911) together in one book, and these omnibus printings are 'first thus' at best. Any copy in a cloth other than grey with the black bat, or lacking the 1911 Arnold title page, is a later printing or reissue.P-040915

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary a first edition?

A first edition of More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M. R. James (Edward Arnold, London) is identified by: Octavo (approx. 217 x 153 mm), collating vii, 274 pp., bound in original grey pictorial cloth stamped in black with the distinctive bat design, and with white endpapers — the grey cloth and black bat are the primary binding point.

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. London, Edward Arnold, 1911 is the first edition and the only period edition traced.

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

No book-club issue is documented for the 1911 Arnold edition. The recurring trap is the combined volume: many later editions print Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904) and More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1911) together in one book, and these omnibus printings are 'first thus' at best. Any copy in a cloth other than grey with the black bat, or lacking the 1911 Arnold title page, is a later printing or reissue.

I have a first edition of More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary — 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.