# Is "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" by Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens) (Charles L. Webster & Co., 1889) is identified by: US first (Webster, 1889), illustrated throughout by Dan Beard, in publisher's subscription cloth, gilt-stamped. US first (Webster) and UK first (Chatto & Windus, as 'A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur'), both 1889; precedence is close and is established by imprint.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US first (Webster, 1889), illustrated throughout by Dan Beard, in publisher's subscription cloth, gilt-stamped
- The accepted first-state point is the presence of a small S-like ornament within the caption on page 59 (between the words THE and KING); the second state lacks that ornament
- Issued without the half-title on the recto of the frontispiece
- The UK Chatto & Windus edition appeared the same year under the title 'A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur.'
- Publisher imprint reads Charles L. Webster & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens) |
| Publisher | Charles L. Webster & Co. |
| Year | 1889 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US first (Webster, 1889), illustrated throughout by Dan Beard, in publisher's subscription cloth, gilt-stamped |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
US first (Webster, 1889), illustrated throughout by Dan Beard, in publisher's subscription cloth, gilt-stamped. The accepted first-state point is the presence of a small S-like ornament within the caption on page 59 (between the words THE and KING); the second state lacks that ornament. Issued without the half-title on the recto of the frontispiece. The UK Chatto & Windus edition appeared the same year under the title 'A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur.'

## Is this the true first?
US first (Webster) and UK first (Chatto & Windus, as 'A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur'), both 1889; precedence is close and is established by imprint. The Dan Beard illustrations are integral to the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and reprints lack the Webster subscription cloth and the first-state caption ornament on page 59; the second state already drops the small S-like ornament.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court* by Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-connecticut-yankee-in-king-arthurs-court
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.