Is My We Are for the Dark a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Jonathan Cape, London, 1951 — subtitled 'Six Ghost Stories', and Robert Aickman's first book
• Octavo, 285 pp., bound in full maroon (burgundy) cloth with the spine titles stamped in silver, issued in a pictorial jacket
• Cape used no number line; identification rests on the Cape imprint, the 1951 date on the title page, and the absence of any reprint or impression line on the copyright page
• The defining textual point is that the six stories are NOT individually attributed — no story in the 1951 book is credited to either author; a copy that assigns stories to Aickman or Howard is not the Cape first
• Jacket should be present with the price present at the flap; the jacket is scarce and clipping is common

How Jonathan Cape, London marked a first edition

• First printings state "First published [Year]" or "First published in Great Britain [Year]" on the copyright page with NO additional impression lines and traditionally NO number line
• Later printings noted by added lines (e.g. 'Second impression [year]', 'Reprinted...') — their presence disqualifies a first

Full Jonathan Cape, 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. 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.
3. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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 Cape 1951 London edition is the true first and, on present evidence, the only contemporaneous edition — no US edition of the collection was published at the time, so no UK-vs-US precedence question arises. The census claim is confirmed. The 'first thus' trap is Tartarus Press, which reissued the collection three times: a first Tartarus edition in 2011 limited to 350 copies, a second in 2016, and a third in 2024 with a new introduction by R. B. Russell (red linson boards, gilt and silver lettering). The Tartarus printings restore the individual attributions — Aickman: 'The Trains', 'The View', 'The Insufficient Answer'; Howard: 'Three Miles Up', 'Left Luggage', 'Perfect Love' — and are firsts of their own edition only, never of the work.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue of the 1951 Cape edition is documented in the sources consulted. The practical confusion in the market is with the Tartarus Press reissues, which are dated, limited, and plainly marked on the imprint and limitation pages — check the title-page imprint and date before calling a copy the Cape first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of We Are for the Dark a first edition?

A first edition of We Are for the Dark by Robert Aickman & Elizabeth Jane Howard (Jonathan Cape, London) is identified by: Jonathan Cape, London, 1951 — subtitled 'Six Ghost Stories', and Robert Aickman's first book.

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 Cape 1951 London edition is the true first and, on present evidence, the only contemporaneous edition — no US edition of the collection was published at the time, so no UK-vs-US precedence question arises.

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

No book-club issue of the 1951 Cape edition is documented in the sources consulted. The practical confusion in the market is with the Tartarus Press reissues, which are dated, limited, and plainly marked on the imprint and limitation pages — check the title-page imprint and date before calling a copy the Cape first.

I have a first edition of We Are for the Dark — 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.