# Is "Someone in the Dark" by August Derleth a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Someone in the Dark by August Derleth (Arkham House, Sauk City, 1941) is identified by: The second book ever issued by Arkham House; 1,115 copies printed. Census claim CONFIRMED.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Arkham House, Sauk City

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | August Derleth |
| Publisher | Arkham House, Sauk City |
| Year | 1941 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The second book ever issued by Arkham House |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## 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. The dust jacket illustration is by Frank Utpatel — largely black and dark green, with a wraparound design across the front panel and spine and a green rear panel and flaps. A first-issue jacket is unclipped with the price present at the flap.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Someone in the Dark* by August Derleth a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/someone-in-the-dark
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.