# Is "What Dreams May Come" by Richard Matheson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson (G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1978) is identified by: Putnam's Sons used no first-edition statement and no number line in 1978. US first: G.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- G. P. Putnam's Sons used no first-edition statement and no number line in 1978
- The first printing is identified by the 1978 date together with the ABSENCE of any impression line on the copyright page; later printings insert 'Second Impression' (third, fourth, etc.)
- Putnam did not adopt a number row until the mid-to-late 1980s
- Two independent publisher guides document this practice — Books Tell You Why (which places the no-statement era at 1960–1988) and Quill & Brush / qbbooks (which places the switch to a number row at 1985)
- Octavo, 304 pp
- Dealers report a blue spine with light blue lettering; that binding description is single-source and should be checked against a known copy
- Publisher imprint reads G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Richard Matheson |
| Publisher | G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York |
| Year | 1978 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | G. P. Putnam's Sons used no first-edition statement and no number line in 1978 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
G. P. Putnam's Sons used no first-edition statement and no number line in 1978. The first printing is identified by the 1978 date together with the ABSENCE of any impression line on the copyright page; later printings insert 'Second Impression' (third, fourth, etc.). Putnam did not adopt a number row until the mid-to-late 1980s. Two independent publisher guides document this practice — Books Tell You Why (which places the no-statement era at 1960–1988) and Quill & Brush / qbbooks (which places the switch to a number row at 1985). Octavo, 304 pp. Dealers report a blue spine with light blue lettering; that binding description is single-source and should be checked against a known copy. The jacket should be present and unclipped with the price present at the front flap. The book is cited in Barron, Fantasy Literature, as 4A-178, and the first includes the appended bibliography of books on life after death.

## Is this the true first?
US first: G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1978 (published September 1978) — confirmed by multiple independent dealers including John W. Knott, Jr. (ABAA/ILAB), Robert Gavora Fine & Rare Books, Second Story Books, Magers and Quinn, and Falling Waters Booksellers. The census's 'UK Michael Joseph followed 1979' claim is CORRECTED: it is not confirmed. No Michael Joseph — or any other UK hardcover — first of this title appears in the dealer listings, trade records, or catalog entries consulted; the documented 1979 follow-on is the US Berkley paperback. Do not repeat the Michael Joseph attribution without a copy in hand.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club tells specific to this title were documented in the sources consulted. Because the Putnam first carries no statement, the jacket is the working discriminator: club copies of period Putnam titles characteristically carry no price at the front flap, often print 'Book Club Edition' at the base of that flap, and carry a blind-stamped impression on the lower rear board. The other reprint trap is the 1998 film — any jacket carrying tie-in or 'now a major motion picture' wording is 1998 or later. Gauntlet Press subsequently issued signed limited editions; those are plainly marked later printings, not firsts.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *What Dreams May Come* by Richard Matheson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/what-dreams-may-come
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.