Is My To the Devil—a Daughter a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The copyright page must read 'First Published 1953' with no further impression line beneath it — this is the point dealers call for as indicating a true first printing
• Octavo (about 19 cm); pp. [8], 9-383, [1]. Bound in original black cloth/boards with the titles stamped in gilt to the spine
• Illustrated map endpapers, present at both the paste-downs and the free endpapers
• The dust jacket was designed by Frank C. Papé, the English artist and book illustrator, and is one of the better-known macabre jacket designs of the period; a first-issue jacket is unclipped with the price present at the flap, and dealers note the spine of a fresh example is unfaded

How Hutchinson & Co. marked a first edition

• Late 1880s to about 1920: many firsts of this era carry no printing statement at all, so dating relies on the title-page date and on dated rear advertisement catalogs; later printings note reprints. Number lines do not a…
• About 1920 to about 1960: 'First published (year)' or 'First published in Great Britain (year)' on the copyright page; a first impression lists no reprints, while later printings add dated 'Reprinted' or 'New impression'…

Full Hutchinson & Co. 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 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. Hutchinson & Co. (London, 1953) is the true first. No contemporaneous American hardcover of this title is recorded in the dealer and bibliographic listings consulted; American appearances are later paperback reprints, so no UK/US precedence contest exists and only the Hutchinson issue is collected as the first edition. English is the original language.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The reliable reprint tell is the copyright page: later Hutchinson impressions add an impression statement beneath 'First Published 1953', and a copy carrying any additional impression line is not the first. A 1954 Hutchinson reprint and a 1971 Hutchinson second impression are both recorded. No specific contemporary book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted; book-club copies in the trade are catalogued as such by their own club imprints rather than by a distinct textual point.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of To the Devil—a Daughter a first edition?

A first edition of To the Devil—a Daughter by Dennis Wheatley (Hutchinson & Co.) is identified by: The copyright page must read 'First Published 1953' with no further impression line beneath it — this is the point dealers call for as indicating a true first printing.

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.

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

The reliable reprint tell is the copyright page: later Hutchinson impressions add an impression statement beneath 'First Published 1953', and a copy carrying any additional impression line is not the first. A 1954 Hutchinson reprint and a 1971 Hutchinson second impression are both recorded. No specific contemporary book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted; book-club copies in the trade are catalogued as such by their own club imprints rather than by a distinct textual point.

I have a first edition of To the Devil—a Daughter — 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.