Is My Necroscope a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is a mass-market paperback original — there is no hardcover first state, which is the single most important point on this title
• Identify it by the Grafton Books (Collins) issue of 1986, ISBN 0-586-06665-9 (the 0-586- prefix is the Granada/Grafton paperback prefix), 512 pages, with wraparound cover art by George Underwood, confirmed on the author's own site
• Grafton's parent Collins put no first-edition statement on firsts, so the check is negative: the copyright page should show the 1986 first-published notice with no later-impression line or added printing numbers
• Because the first is a paperback, condition points are spine creasing, edge-roll and cover rub rather than jacket points

How Grafton Books, London marked a first edition

• First editions either carry NO additional printing statement on the copyright page or state "First published [Year]" — practice was not fully consistent, so confirm with jacket/ad dating
• Later printings noted with impression lines; their absence supports a first

Full Grafton Books, London 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 census claim is confirmed: Grafton Books, London, 1986 (June/July 1986) is the true first, and the US Tor edition of 1988 is a mass-market paperback (Bob Eggleton cover) that follows it — collected as the first American edition, not the first. The "first thus" trap is explicit and common: the first appearance of Necroscope in hardback is a Tor issue of 1994, which dealers list verbatim as "First Edition in Hardback." That phrase describes a first hardcover state of an eight-year-old text, not a first edition, and a hardback Necroscope can never be the true first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented for the Grafton paperback in the sources consulted. The reprint and "first thus" field is instead crowded with later Tor, Hodder & Stoughton, HarperCollins/Voyager and Tom Doherty reissues, plus the 1994 Tor hardback described above; a hardcover copy of any date should be treated as a later state by default. Grafton's own later impressions are identified by added printing notation on the copyright page.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Necroscope a first edition?

A first edition of Necroscope by Brian Lumley (Grafton Books, London) is identified by: The true first is a mass-market paperback original — there is no hardcover first state, which is the single most important point on this title.

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 census claim is confirmed: Grafton Books, London, 1986 (June/July 1986) is the true first, and the US Tor edition of 1988 is a mass-market paperback (Bob Eggleton cover) that follows it — collected as the first American edition, not the first.

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

No book-club edition is documented for the Grafton paperback in the sources consulted. The reprint and "first thus" field is instead crowded with later Tor, Hodder & Stoughton, HarperCollins/Voyager and Tom Doherty reissues, plus the 1994 Tor hardback described above; a hardcover copy of any date should be treated as a later state by default. Grafton's own later impressions are identified by added printing notation on the copyright page.

I have a first edition of Necroscope — 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.