# Is "The Cellar" by Richard Laymon a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Cellar by Richard Laymon (Warner Books, 1980) is identified by: Warner Books mass-market paperback original (254 pp, ISBN 0-446-92246-3); the copyright page states First Printing: January, 1980. The US Warner paperback original (January 1980) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Warner Books mass-market paperback original (254 pp, ISBN 0-446-92246-3); the copyright page states First Printing: January, 1980
- This was Laymon's first novel and the first Beast House book
- As a paperback original there is no printed number line in the modern sense; identification rests on the stated January 1980 first printing wording and the correct Warner catalog/ISBN, with the price printed on the front cover
- Later Warner reprints revise the printing statement on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Warner Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Richard Laymon |
| Publisher | Warner Books |
| Year | 1980 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Warner Books mass-market paperback original (254 pp, ISBN 0-446-92246-3); the copyright page states First Printing: January, 1980 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Warner Books mass-market paperback original (254 pp, ISBN 0-446-92246-3); the copyright page states First Printing: January, 1980. This was Laymon's first novel and the first Beast House book. As a paperback original there is no printed number line in the modern sense; identification rests on the stated January 1980 first printing wording and the correct Warner catalog/ISBN, with the price printed on the front cover. Later Warner reprints revise the printing statement on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
The US Warner paperback original (January 1980) is the true first. New English Library issued the UK edition later in 1980, also as a paperback (224 pp, ISBN 0-450-04927-2), not a hardcover; the first hardcover editions came much later from specialty presses.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
N/A (paperback original); no book-club edition. Beware later Warner printings whose copyright page no longer reads First Printing: January, 1980.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Cellar* by Richard Laymon a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-cellar
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.