# Is "Tales from the White Hart" by Arthur C. Clarke a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Tales from the White Hart by Arthur C. Clarke (Ballantine, 1957) is identified by: Paperback original, Ballantine number 186, 1957. US Ballantine paperback original is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Paperback original, Ballantine number 186, 1957
- Collection of fifteen 'club tale' stories, two of which ('Moving Spirit' and 'The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch') first appeared here
- No simultaneous hardcover was issued
- Publisher imprint reads Ballantine
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Arthur C. Clarke |
| Publisher | Ballantine |
| Year | 1957 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Paperback original, Ballantine number 186, 1957 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Paperback original, Ballantine number 186, 1957. Collection of fifteen 'club tale' stories, two of which ('Moving Spirit' and 'The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch') first appeared here. No simultaneous hardcover was issued.

## Is this the true first?
US Ballantine paperback original is the true first. The first hardcover edition did not appear until 1970 (Harcourt, Brace and World), thirteen years later.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not applicable to the 1957 paperback original.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Tales from the White Hart* by Arthur C. Clarke a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/tales-from-the-white-hart
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.