Is My They Return at Evening a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The copyright page carries the edition statement 'First Edition - - - - - - - 1928' — this is the point to look for
• Octavo; pp. [1-10] 11-313 [314: blank] [315-316: ads], the first leaf blank; woodcut device on the title page
• Collects ten ghost stories, including 'He Cometh and He Passeth By'
• The probable first binding is original black cloth with the front panel ruled in blind and the spine panel stamped in gold, white endpapers
• Currey calls the black cloth the probable first binding and notes it uncommon in that state, while also reporting copies seen in mustard cloth — priority between the two is not firmly established, but black is the state dealers call for
• The dust jacket is very rare and was issued with a separate printed advertising band; both are seldom present, and copies with either are catalogued as exceptional

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. 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 American 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?

Census claim CONFIRMED, and both editions are collected. Philip Allan & Co. (London, 1928) is the true first. D. Appleton & Company (New York, 1928) issued the first American edition in the same year: it is bound in black cloth with front and spine panels stamped in gold, and its first printing is identified by '(1)' at the base of the text on page [266]. The London Allan issue takes precedence; the Appleton is the first US and is separately collected.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No contemporary book-club issue is documented for either the Allan or the Appleton edition. The reliable reprint tells are on the copyright page and at page [266]: a London copy without the 'First Edition... 1928' line is not the Allan first, and a New York Appleton copy lacking the '(1)' at the foot of page [266] is a later American printing, not the first American.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of They Return at Evening a first edition?

A first edition of They Return at Evening by H. R. Wakefield (Philip Allan & Co., Ltd., London) is identified by: The copyright page carries the edition statement 'First Edition - - - - - - - 1928' — this is the point to look for.

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. Census claim CONFIRMED, and both editions are collected.

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

No contemporary book-club issue is documented for either the Allan or the Appleton edition. The reliable reprint tells are on the copyright page and at page [266]: a London copy without the 'First Edition... 1928' line is not the Allan first, and a New York Appleton copy lacking the '(1)' at the foot of page [266] is a later American printing, not the first American.

I have a first edition of They Return at Evening — 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.