Is My Night Has a Thousand Eyes a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The governing point is the publisher's device: on Farrar & Rinehart first editions the firm's colophon (logo) must be present on the copyright page, and it is absent on subsequent printings — the words "First Edition" were only occasionally used by this house, so absence of a printed statement does not by itself disqualify a copy, but absence of the colophon does
• This colophon rule is documented independently in two standard publisher-identification guides
• The book collates 301 pp., approximately 19.5 cm, bound in woven light blue cloth with the spine title stamped in silver
• The dust jacket was designed by Sol Immerman; a priced jacket with the price present at the inside front flap is the unclipped first-issue state
• No first-state text errors are documented for this title in the sources consulted
• This is a notoriously fragile title — the blue cloth sunned along the spine and board edges, and foxing to the top edge of the text block, are near-universal condition traits, not issue points

How Farrar & Rinehart marked a first edition

• Confirm the copyright page carries NO later-printing statement. On subsequent printings the oval colophon was removed and no first-edition wording was substituted, so device present + no printing statement = first printi…

Full Farrar & Rinehart 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 Farrar & Rinehart (New York, with Toronto on the imprint line) 1945, published under the George Hopley pseudonym, is the true first edition; the census claim is confirmed. The first British edition is markedly later and is a paperback — Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1949 — so there is no UK-vs-US precedence contest here; the Penguin is collected as the first British appearance only. The principal trap on this title is authorial: "George Hopley" is a pseudonym of Cornell Woolrich (who also wrote as William Irish), and the book is frequently catalogued and shelved under Woolrich. Later editions reprinted under the Cornell Woolrich byline are "first thus," not firsts — the true first must carry the Hopley name on the title page.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition tells specific to this title are documented in the sources consulted. The Farrar & Rinehart colophon rule serves as the working reprint tell: a copyright page without the publisher's device indicates a later printing. Because no club-specific point (blind-stamp, unpriced jacket, or club colophon) is attested for this title, club status should not be inferred from binding or jacket alone.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Night Has a Thousand Eyes a first edition?

A first edition of Night Has a Thousand Eyes by George Hopley (Cornell Woolrich) (Farrar & Rinehart) is identified by: The governing point is the publisher's device: on Farrar & Rinehart first editions the firm's colophon (logo) must be present on the copyright page, and it is absent on subsequent printings — the words "First Edition" were only occasionally used by this house, so absence of a printed statement does not by itself disqualify a copy, but absence of the colophon does.

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 Farrar & Rinehart (New York, with Toronto on the imprint line) 1945, published under the George Hopley pseudonym, is the true first edition; the census claim is confirmed.

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

No book-club edition tells specific to this title are documented in the sources consulted. The Farrar & Rinehart colophon rule serves as the working reprint tell: a copyright page without the publisher's device indicates a later printing. Because no club-specific point (blind-stamp, unpriced jacket, or club colophon) is attested for this title, club status should not be inferred from binding or jacket alone.

I have a first edition of Night Has a Thousand Eyes — 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.