Is My The Shadow over Innsmouth a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition: Everett, Pennsylvania, Visionary Publishing Co
• (William L. Crawford), 1936
• The copyright page reads 'Published, April, 1936,' but the book did not actually appear until November 1936 — the stated month is not a printing state, it is simply wrong
• Octavo, collating pp. [1-16: blank] [1-12] 13-158 [159-176: blank], the first and last leaves used as pastedowns, with four black-and-white illustrations by Frank A. Utpatel
• Original black cloth, front and spine panels stamped in silver
• Currey records two bindings (A and B) distinguished by the front-panel title lettering, one binding having the title in upper and lower case, with no priority established between them

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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. 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.
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 census claim is confirmed and can be tightened. The Visionary 1936 book is the sole edition and the first appearance of the text anywhere; there is no UK, US-vs-UK, or original-language precedence question. The Weird Tales appearance of January 1942 is posthumous, abridged and unauthorized, and is later in every sense. One correction of framing: The Shunned House was printed in 1928, within Lovecraft's lifetime, but was never bound or published then — so the precise claim is that Innsmouth is the only bound book of Lovecraft's fiction published in his lifetime (he died in March 1937), not the only book printed.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition exists and none is possible for a 200-copy binding. Everything later is a reprint: Arkham House's collected volumes from 1939 onward, and the very large modern reprint and facsimile literature, all of which are 'first thus' at best. Any copy in a binding other than black cloth silver-stamped, or bearing a publisher other than Visionary Publishing Co., Everett, PA, is not the first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Shadow over Innsmouth a first edition?

A first edition of The Shadow over Innsmouth by H. P. Lovecraft (Visionary Publishing Co., Everett, PA) is identified by: First edition: Everett, Pennsylvania, Visionary Publishing Co.

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). The census claim is confirmed and can be tightened.

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

No book-club edition exists and none is possible for a 200-copy binding. Everything later is a reprint: Arkham House's collected volumes from 1939 onward, and the very large modern reprint and facsimile literature, all of which are 'first thus' at best. Any copy in a binding other than black cloth silver-stamped, or bearing a publisher other than Visionary Publishing Co., Everett, PA, is not the first.

I have a first edition of The Shadow over Innsmouth — 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.