# Is "More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary" by M. R. James a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M. R. James (Edward Arnold, London, 1911) is identified by: 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. The census claim is confirmed as to the true first: London, Edward Arnold, 1911 is the first edition and the only period edition traced.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Edward Arnold, London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | M. R. James |
| Publisher | Edward Arnold, London |
| Year | 1911 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | 217 x 153 mm), collating vii, 274 pp., bound in original grey pictorial cloth stamped in black with the distinctive bat design, and with… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## 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.

## Is this the true first?
The census claim is confirmed as to 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). The census's further assertion that a separate US edition followed 'much later' could not be corroborated in the sources consulted, and 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary* by M. R. James a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/more-ghost-stories-of-an-antiquary
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.