# Is "The Scarf" by Robert Bloch a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Scarf by Robert Bloch (The Dial Press, New York, 1947) is identified by: The Dial Press, New York, 1947. Census claim CONFIRMED.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The Dial Press, New York, 1947
- Octavo, boards
- No statement of printing appears on the copyright page (per Currey), so the first is identified by the Dial title leaf and 1947 copyright date alone — a copy showing any later printing statement is not the first
- This is Bloch's second book and his first novel; his first book was the Arkham House collection 'The Opener of the Way'
- Issued in a pictorial dust jacket; a first-issue jacket is unclipped with the price present at the flap
- Dealers consistently note that the text block of this title age-darkens, sometimes heavily — that is a paper-stock condition trait common to the issue, not an issue point, and it should not be mistaken for one
- Publisher imprint reads The Dial Press, New York

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Bloch |
| Publisher | The Dial Press, New York |
| Year | 1947 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The Dial Press, New York, 1947 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The Dial Press, New York, 1947. Octavo, boards. No statement of printing appears on the copyright page (per Currey), so the first is identified by the Dial title leaf and 1947 copyright date alone — a copy showing any later printing statement is not the first. This is Bloch's second book and his first novel; his first book was the Arkham House collection 'The Opener of the Way' (1945). Issued in a pictorial dust jacket; a first-issue jacket is unclipped with the price present at the flap. Dealers consistently note that the text block of this title age-darkens, sometimes heavily — that is a paper-stock condition trait common to the issue, not an issue point, and it should not be mistaken for one. Binding board color and spine stamping are not consistently recorded across the ABAA descriptions consulted, so no binding point is asserted here rather than guessed.

## Is this the true first?
Census claim CONFIRMED. The Dial Press (New York, 1947) is the true first — an American original in English, with no British edition preceding or accompanying it. The 1948 Avon paperback is the first paperback appearance and was retitled 'The Scarf of Passion'; it is a retitle trap and not a first. Later Avon printings reverted to the original title 'The Scarf'.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No contemporary book-club issue is documented. The significant 'first thus' trap is the 1966 Fawcett Gold Medal paperback, for which Bloch revised the text: he switched chapter sequences at the opening, edited out 1946-era references and slang, restored several sequences cut by the original editor, and rewrote the ending. Every edition from 1966 forward therefore carries the revised text; only the Dial 1947 first and the 1948 Avon 'The Scarf of Passion' retitle carry the original text as first published.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Scarf* by Robert Bloch a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-scarf
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.