How to identify a first printing
- US Phantom Books: a short-run digest-sized crime line numbered roughly #500 through #513, active in the early 1950s (not the late 1940s). Several titles are paperback originals by hardboiled authors such as Harry Whittington and Day Keene (for example Married to Murder, #503; Swamp Kill by Whit Harrison, #508). For an original, the Phantom digest is the text's first edition. Identify a first by the catalog number, the digest format with stapled pictorial wrappers, and the original cover price, with no later-printing notice on the copyright page.
- Australian Phantom Books (Horwitz/Transport Publishing) is a separate imprint running a longer number range (about #501 to #695) and consisting largely of reprints of US/UK hardboiled authors. A title that was first published in the US (for example Whittington's The Brass Monkey, first issued as Handi-Book #133 in 1951) appears as an Australian Phantom reprint and is a distinct later edition; identify it by the Australian publisher imprint and local price in shillings.
- Because survival rates for these fragile digests and pulp-stock paperbacks are low, confirm the first by the earliest dated issue carrying no reissue note, and distinguish a Phantom original from a Phantom reprint by checking the copyright page for any prior-publisher acknowledgment.
Notable points & cautions
- Two unrelated 'Phantom Books' exist: a short-lived US digest crime line of the early 1950s and a larger Australian paperback imprint tied to Horwitz; do not conflate them.
- The US line is dated by its narrow ~#500-513 number range and is firmly early-1950s, not late-1940s.
- Home to early-1950s paperback originals by Harry Whittington (including under the pseudonym Whit Harrison) and Day Keene.
Imprints
First editions also appear under: Phantom Books (US digest crime/hardboiled, numbered ~#500-513), Phantom Books (Australia, Horwitz/Transport Publishing, numbered ~#501-695). Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my Phantom Books book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. US Phantom Books: a short-run digest-sized crime line numbered roughly #500 through #513, active in the early 1950s (not the late 1940s). Several titles are paperback originals by hardboiled authors such as Harry Whittington and Day Keene (for example Married to Murder, #503; Swamp Kill by Whit Harrison, #508). For an original, the Phantom digest is the text's first edition. Identify a first by the catalog number, the digest format with stapled pictorial wrappers, and the original cover price, with no later-printing notice on the copyright page. Australian Phantom Books (Horwitz/Transport Publishing) is a separate imprint running a longer number range (about #501 to #695) and consisting largely of reprints of US/UK hardboiled authors. A title that was first published in the US (for example Whittington's The Brass Monkey, first issued as Handi-Book #133 in 1951) appears as an Australian Phantom reprint and is a distinct later edition; identify it by the Australian publisher imprint and local price in shillings.
Does Phantom Books use a number line?
Australian Phantom Books (Horwitz/Transport Publishing) is a separate imprint running a longer number range (about #501 to #695) and consisting largely of reprints of US/UK hardboiled authors. A title that was first published in the US (for example Whittington's The Brass Monkey, first issued as Handi-Book #133 in 1951) appears as an Australian Phantom reprint and is a distinct later edition; identify it by the Australian publisher imprint and local price in shillings.
Is a book-club edition a Phantom Books first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Two unrelated 'Phantom Books' exist: a short-lived US digest crime line of the early 1950s and a larger Australian paperback imprint tied to Horwitz; do not conflate them.
What era does this cover?
This covers Phantom Books (c.1951-1953 (US digest line); 1950s into the 1960s (Australian imprint)). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.