Is My Copy of 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?

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. It was the second Arkham House book, in an edition of 1,115 copies.

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.P-042422

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. 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.

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.

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. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.