Is My The Coming of Conan a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The copyright page of this title states 'First Edition' (copyright registered 25 October 1953), and the book runs 224 pages
• The binding is red cloth with black lettering to the spine, and the dust jacket is by Frank Kelly Freas, with the price present at the flap on an unclipped copy
• Two distinguishing features separate it from the earlier Gnome Conan volumes: the title page drops the 'The Hyborean Age' designation carried by its predecessors, and Dave Kyle's map of Hyboria appears as background artwork on the cover rather than on the endpapers
• Contents include L. Sprague de Camp's introduction, Howard–Lovecraft letters, 'The Hyborian Age' (Part 1), the Kull material, and the Conan stories 'The Tower of the Elephant', 'The God in the Bowl', 'Rogues in the House' and 'Queen of the Black Coast'
• The Gnome Press bibliography records no variants and no later printing for this title; sources conflict on print run (5,000 vs 4,000), so that figure is not an identification point

How Gnome Press, Inc. marked a first edition

• First editions generally STATE 'First Edition' on the copyright page — but this alone is NOT conclusive: in offset reprints Gnome sometimes left a prior publisher's 'First Edition' statement standing
• Confirm via binding measurements/bulk and priority dust-jacket points (rear-panel ad titles, jacket art state) documented title-by-title in the Gnome bibliography

Full Gnome Press, Inc. first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. 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.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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 Gnome Press first edition, New York, 1953, is the true first in book form; the underlying stories are Weird Tales appearances and some were completed or revised by L. Sprague de Camp for this volume, which is a textual point rather than a precedence one. No UK or original-language edition competes. The census claim is confirmed; note that although this volume opens Conan's internal chronology, it is the fourth Gnome Conan title by publication, after Conan the Conqueror (1950), The Sword of Conan (1952) and King Conan (1953).

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented for this title, and the Gnome Press bibliography lists no variants. The imprint-wide caution applies: with a single exception, Gnome never noted that it had reprinted a book and left 'First Edition' standing on the copyright page, and partial binding runs mean later-bound sheets can appear in different boards — so the statement alone is necessary but not sufficient across the imprint. Back-panel jacket advertising, updated to the latest Gnome titles, is the usual cross-check. Later paperback recastings of the Conan canon are separate editions entirely.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Coming of Conan a first edition?

A first edition of The Coming of Conan by Robert E. Howard (Gnome Press, Inc.) is identified by: The copyright page of this title states 'First Edition' (copyright registered 25 October 1953), and the book runs 224 pages.

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 Gnome Press first edition, New York, 1953, is the true first in book form; the underlying stories are Weird Tales appearances and some were completed or revised by L.

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

No book-club edition is documented for this title, and the Gnome Press bibliography lists no variants. The imprint-wide caution applies: with a single exception, Gnome never noted that it had reprinted a book and left 'First Edition' standing on the copyright page, and partial binding runs mean later-bound sheets can appear in different boards — so the statement alone is necessary but not sufficient across the imprint. Back-panel jacket advertising, updated to the latest Gnome titles, is the usu

I have a first edition of The Coming of Conan — 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.