Is My Someone in the Dark a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The second book ever issued by Arkham House
• 1,115 copies printed
• There is no printing statement and no limitation notice in the book, so identification rests on the physical points
• Bound in publisher's original black cloth with the spine lettered in gilt; the volume stands about 17.6 cm tall and has comparatively thin boards
• The decisive point: the 1941 sheets have NO headband and NO footband at the spine
• Preface plus sixteen stories; pp. [i-vi], 1-335

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. 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 American 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?

Census claim CONFIRMED. The Arkham House printing of 1941 (Sauk City) is the true and only first — the collection is an American original, and no contemporaneous British edition is recorded in the sources consulted, so no UK/US or original-language precedence question arises. The census description of it as the second Arkham House book at 1,115 copies is corroborated.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The trap here is the unacknowledged 1965 reprint: an additional 300 copies were run off in offset by Hunter Publishing Co. and sold by Derleth without being distinguished from remaining 1941 stock; it is not generally counted an official Arkham House publication. It stands about a quarter-inch taller than the 1941 first, has thicker boards, and — the fastest tell without a comparison copy — IS bound with headbands, which the 1941 first lacks. The two printings are documented in Sheldon Jaffery's 'The Arkham House Companion' (pp. 2-4). A Jove paperback reprint followed in 1978.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Someone in the Dark a first edition?

A first edition of Someone in the Dark by August Derleth (Arkham House, Sauk City) is identified by: The second book ever issued by Arkham House; 1,115 copies printed.

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. Census claim CONFIRMED.

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

The trap here is the unacknowledged 1965 reprint: an additional 300 copies were run off in offset by Hunter Publishing Co. and sold by Derleth without being distinguished from remaining 1941 stock; it is not generally counted an official Arkham House publication. It stands about a quarter-inch taller than the 1941 first, has thicker boards, and — the fastest tell without a comparison copy — IS bound with headbands, which the 1941 first lacks. The two printings are documented in Sheldon Jaffery's

I have a first edition of Someone in the Dark — 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.