Is My The Woman in Black a First Edition?

The points of issue

• London: Hamish Hamilton, 1983
• First edition, first impression, in publisher's green cloth, 8vo, with an illustrated dust jacket and half-page and vignette illustrations within the text
• CORRECTION to the census note: the illustrator is JOHN LAWRENCE, not 'Barrett' — no Barrett illustrations are associated with the 1983 Hamish Hamilton first, and Lawrence's credit carries through to the 1986 first American edition
• Identification is from the copyright page, which on a first carries the 1983 Hamish Hamilton first-publication statement with no later impression number added; dealers uniformly catalogue the point as 'first edition, first impression,' though none of the sources consulted quotes the exact copyright-page wording, so confirm that no later impression figure has been added
• Green cloth is corroborated by multiple ILAB/ABA dealers
• Jacket is the Lawrence-illustrated jacket and should be priced at the flap; price-clipped jackets are very common in the trade and are a condition point, not a printing point

How Hamish Hamilton, London marked a first edition

• First printing = statement present with no list of later impressions

Full Hamish Hamilton, 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. 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?

UK precedes US, and the census note is correct on precedence. The true first is Hamish Hamilton, London, 1983. The first American edition is David R. Godine, Boston, 1986 — stated 'First American Edition,' retaining John Lawrence's black-and-white pen-and-ink drawings, 160 pp., in a jacket priced at the flap. Both are collected and the Godine is genuinely scarce, but it is a first American edition, not the first edition, and should be described that way. Later illustrated, anniversary and post-2012-film reissues are 'first thus' at best.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition of the 1983 Hamish Hamilton first is documented in the sources consulted. The dominant trap is sheer volume of later printings: the long-running stage adaptation and the 2012 film drove very heavy reissue under Hamish Hamilton, Vintage and Penguin imprints, and these later-dated paperbacks and tie-ins are what a donor almost always has. The second trap is the 1986 Godine being offered as 'first edition' on the strength of its 'First American Edition' statement. Green cloth plus a Lawrence-illustrated jacket plus a 1983 Hamish Hamilton copyright page with no later impression number is the combination to look for.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Woman in Black a first edition?

A first edition of The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (Hamish Hamilton, London) is identified by: London: Hamish Hamilton, 1983.

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. UK precedes US, and the census note is correct on precedence.

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

No book-club edition of the 1983 Hamish Hamilton first is documented in the sources consulted. The dominant trap is sheer volume of later printings: the long-running stage adaptation and the 2012 film drove very heavy reissue under Hamish Hamilton, Vintage and Penguin imprints, and these later-dated paperbacks and tie-ins are what a donor almost always has. The second trap is the 1986 Godine being offered as 'first edition' on the strength of its 'First American Edition' statement. Green cloth p

I have a first edition of The Woman in Black — 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.