Is My Out of Space and Time a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Arkham printed this once — 1,054 copies — and never reprinted it, so an Arkham House, Sauk City, 1942 imprint is the first printing; there is no printing statement and none should appear
• The binding is publisher's black cloth, collating xii + 370 pages, with the jacket art by Hannes Bok; the jacket should be priced at the top right of the front flap and unclipped on an unmolested copy
• This was Arkham's third book and Smith's first Arkham collection, gathering 21 tales selected by Smith himself from his Averoigne, Hyperborea, Poseidonis and Zothique cycles, with a critical introduction
• One habitual condition tell, not an issue point: the jacket spine lettering, originally pale green, ages to off-white, and jacket spine ends are commonly chipped

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. 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 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?

Arkham House (Sauk City), 1942, is the true first — the census claim is confirmed on publisher, year, print run and Arkham sequence. There is no competing original-language or UK first. The first British hardcover is Neville Spearman (London), 1971, confirming the census note, followed by a two-volume Panther paperback in 1974 and a Bison Books trade paperback in 2006; all are "first thus" at best and none disturbs the 1942 precedence. One naming trap worth knowing: Smith wanted the book titled "The End of the Story and Other Stories" and Derleth supplied the published title, so that phrase on a title page is not this book.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented and there is no later Arkham printing, so the confusions are the British and paperback reissues: Neville Spearman 1971 in hardcover, Panther 1974 in two volumes — a two-volume set is never the first — and Bison Books 2006. Facsimile jackets for Arkham House titles are sold openly by reproduction specialists, so a Bok jacket in fresh condition on a 1942 book should be examined for reproduction before anything else is concluded.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Out of Space and Time a first edition?

A first edition of Out of Space and Time by Clark Ashton Smith (Arkham House, Sauk City, Wisconsin) is identified by: Arkham printed this once — 1,054 copies — and never reprinted it, so an Arkham House, Sauk City, 1942 imprint is the first printing; there is no printing statement and none should appear.

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. Arkham House (Sauk City), 1942, is the true first — the census claim is confirmed on publisher, year, print run and Arkham sequence.

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

No book-club edition is documented and there is no later Arkham printing, so the confusions are the British and paperback reissues: Neville Spearman 1971 in hardcover, Panther 1974 in two volumes — a two-volume set is never the first — and Bison Books 2006. Facsimile jackets for Arkham House titles are sold openly by reproduction specialists, so a Bok jacket in fresh condition on a 1942 book should be examined for reproduction before anything else is concluded.

I have a first edition of Out of Space and Time — 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.