# Is "The Coming of Conan" by Robert E. Howard a First Edition?

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

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Gnome Press, Inc.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert E. Howard |
| Publisher | Gnome Press, Inc. |
| Year | 1953 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The copyright page of this title states 'First Edition' (copyright registered 25 October 1953), and the book runs 224 pages |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Coming of Conan* by Robert E. Howard a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-coming-of-conan
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.