# Is "They Return at Evening" by H. R. Wakefield a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of They Return at Evening by H. R. Wakefield (Philip Allan & Co., Ltd., London, 1928) is identified by: The copyright page carries the edition statement 'First Edition - - - - - - - 1928' — this is the point to look for. Census claim CONFIRMED, and both editions are collected.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Philip Allan & Co., Ltd., London

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | H. R. Wakefield |
| Publisher | Philip Allan & Co., Ltd., London |
| Year | 1928 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The copyright page carries the edition statement 'First Edition - - - - - - - 1928' — this is the point to look for |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *They Return at Evening* by H. R. Wakefield a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/they-return-at-evening
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.