Is My Noctuary a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The UK Robinson first is a hardcover in black boards lettered in gilt at the spine, collating xiii + 194 pages, ISBN 1-85487-233-8, in a pictorial jacket designed and illustrated by David Wood (orange and black artwork, black and yellow lettering); a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap, unclipped, is what dealers describe on first-issue copies
• The near-simultaneous American issue from Carroll & Graf, New York is bound in black cloth with the same collation and the same Wood jacket art, ISBN 0-7867-0003-3, and its copyright page reads 'First Carroll & Graf edition 1994' above a complete number line reading 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 — a line no longer descending to 1 indicates a later Carroll & Graf printing
• L. W. Currey catalogues the Robinson book as the first edition and the Carroll & Graf book separately as the 'first edition, U.S. issue,' and the two appeared within weeks of one another in early 1994
• The collection gathers twenty-six stories and a novella in three sections (Studies in Shadow, Discourse on Blackness, Notebook of the Night), each with its own introductory essay

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. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the UK 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?

The census claim is corrected: the true first is the UK edition — Robinson Publishing, London, January 1994 — not Carroll & Graf. The Carroll & Graf, New York issue followed in February 1994 and is catalogued by L. W. Currey as the 'first edition, U.S. issue,' with dealer descriptions stating explicitly that the Robinson preceded the American edition. Both are collected and both should be named: the Robinson has bibliographic priority, while American Ligotti collectors generally pursue the Carroll & Graf, which is the issue with a documented copyright-page statement and number line. Ligotti's earlier collections carry their own precedence traps (small-press originals preceding the later Carroll & Graf / Robinson pairs), so this UK-first pattern must not be generalised across his bibliography.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition of either 1994 issue is documented. The reliable later-state tell on the American issue is the number line: a first printing runs 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, and any broken line is a subsequent printing. Later hardcover reprints of the collection from other imprints are reprints, not firsts, and the text has since been reissued in paperback under other imprints — none of which are first editions.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Noctuary a first edition?

A first edition of Noctuary by Thomas Ligotti (Robinson Publishing, London) is identified by: The UK Robinson first is a hardcover in black boards lettered in gilt at the spine, collating xiii + 194 pages, ISBN 1-85487-233-8, in a pictorial jacket designed and illustrated by David Wood (orange and black artwork, black and yellow lettering); a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap, unclipped, is what dealers describe on first-issue copies.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). The census claim is corrected: the true first is the UK edition — Robinson Publishing, London, January 1994 — not Carroll & Graf.

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

No book-club edition of either 1994 issue is documented. The reliable later-state tell on the American issue is the number line: a first printing runs 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, and any broken line is a subsequent printing. Later hardcover reprints of the collection from other imprints are reprints, not firsts, and the text has since been reissued in paperback under other imprints — none of which are first editions.

I have a first edition of Noctuary — 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.