Is My Copy of A Dictionary of the English Language a First Edition?

The points of issue

• London, 1755
• TWO VOLUMES, FOLIO — this is the whole triage
• The first edition is a pair of large folios (roughly 410 x 255 mm), published 15 April 1755 in an edition of 2,000 copies, representing about nine years of work
• Volume 1 carries the title-page, the Preface, "The History of the English Language" and "An English Grammar," then A-K; Volume 2 runs L-Z. Roughly 40,000 words illustrated by about 114,000 quotations
• The full imprint must read "Printed by W. Strahan, for J. and P. Knapton
• T. and T. Longman

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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 UK 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?

The London 1755 two-volume folio is the true first, and format triage is the key step. No UK/US or original-language precedence question arises — Johnson wrote in English, the work was published in London, and no American folio competes. The critical distinction to state plainly is folio-vs-octavo: the 1756 abridgment (two much smaller OCTAVO volumes, January 1756, its title-page announcing the text as abstracted from the folio edition by the author) is a different book, prepared by Johnson but not the first edition of the Dictionary. The second edition is likewise not a rival first: it was issued in 165 weekly numbers beginning within weeks of the folio and completed in 1756.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition exists for a 1755 folio. Documented reprint tells, in the order a donor is likely to hold them: (1) the 1756 two-volume OCTAVO abridgment — physically small, and the title-page itself announces the abridgment; (2) the second edition in 165 weekly numbers (1755-56) and later 18th-century folios (the fourth edition of 1773 is Johnson's own revision and is separately noteworthy, but it is not the first); (3) 19th-century "Johnson's Dictionary" derivatives, above all H. J. Todd's revised octavo editions and the many Walker/Todd hybrids sold under Johnson's name — these are revisions by other hands, not Johnson's text; (4) modern facsimiles and Folio Society reproductions, identifiable by modern paper, a publisher's slipcase and a 20th/21st-century copyright notice. If the book is not a large folio with the 1755 Strahan/Knapton conger imprint, it is not the first edition.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Dictionary of the English Language a first edition?

A first edition of A Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson (Printed by W. Strahan for J. and P. Knapton; T. and T. Longman; C. Hitch and L. Hawes; A. Millar; and R. and J. Dodsley, London) is identified by: London, 1755; TWO VOLUMES, FOLIO — this is the whole triage.

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. The London 1755 two-volume folio is the true first, and format triage is the key step.

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

No book-club edition exists for a 1755 folio. Documented reprint tells, in the order a donor is likely to hold them: (1) the 1756 two-volume OCTAVO abridgment — physically small, and the title-page itself announces the abridgment; (2) the second edition in 165 weekly numbers (1755-56) and later 18th-century folios (the fourth edition of 1773 is Johnson's own revision and is separately noteworthy, but it is not the first); (3) 19th-century "Johnson's Dictionary" derivatives, above all H. J. Todd'

I have a first edition of A Dictionary of the English Language — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.