Is My The Ghost Pirates a First Edition?

The points of issue

• London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1909: octavo, collating pp. [1-6] 7-276, followed by 12 pages of publisher's advertisements at the rear, with an inserted frontispiece illustrated by Sidney H. Sime — the Sime frontispiece must be present
• Bottom edge untrimmed
• Binding priority per L.W. Currey: the PROBABLE first binding (Currey's binding 'A') is red cloth with the front panel stamped in gold within a blind-stamped border and the spine panel stamped in gold; copies in green cloth with the front panel stamped in BLACK and the spine panel in gold were probably issued after the red; a blue cloth variant is recorded but is seldom seen
• No edition statement or number line is present — this is a 1909 English trade novel — so identification rests on the imprint, the rear ads, the Sime frontispiece and the binding
• Note that Currey states the red-cloth priority as 'probable,' not established; do not overstate it

How Stanley Paul & Co., London marked a first edition

• Late 1880s to about 1920: many firsts of this era carry no printing statement at all, so dating relies on the title-page date and on dated rear advertisement catalogs; later printings note reprints. Number lines do not a…
• About 1920 to about 1960: 'First published (year)' or 'First published in Great Britain (year)' on the copyright page; a first impression lists no reprints, while later printings add dated 'Reprinted' or 'New impression'…

Full Stanley Paul & Co., London first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
3. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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?

Stanley Paul & Co., London, 1909 is the true first, and the census claim is confirmed as far as the sources reach. No American edition was traced in Hodgson's lifetime (he was killed in 1918) and none is recorded in any source consulted — but this rests on absence of evidence rather than a positive citation, so it should be stated as 'no US edition traced' rather than 'no US edition existed.' There is accordingly no UK/US precedence question and no original-language question. The standing bibliographic authorities for Hodgson are L.W. Currey and Bell's Hodgson bibliography (vol. I, p. 5), both of which underpin the points above.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 1909 Stanley Paul edition. The later-issue hazards are twentieth-century specialty-press and paperback reprints: any copy with a jacket bearing an ISBN, or lacking the Sime frontispiece and the 12 pages of Stanley Paul advertisements, is not the 1909 first. Green- and blue-cloth copies are genuine first-edition sheets in variant or later bindings, not reprints — do not reject them, but record the binding.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Ghost Pirates a first edition?

A first edition of The Ghost Pirates by William Hope Hodgson (Stanley Paul & Co., London) is identified by: London, Stanley Paul & Co., 1909: octavo, collating pp.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). Stanley Paul & Co., London, 1909 is the true first, and the census claim is confirmed as far as the sources reach.

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

No book-club issue is documented for the 1909 Stanley Paul edition. The later-issue hazards are twentieth-century specialty-press and paperback reprints: any copy with a jacket bearing an ISBN, or lacking the Sime frontispiece and the 12 pages of Stanley Paul advertisements, is not the 1909 first. Green- and blue-cloth copies are genuine first-edition sheets in variant or later bindings, not reprints — do not reject them, but record the binding.

I have a first edition of The Ghost Pirates — 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.