Is My A Doll's House a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Title page reads "A Doll's House
• Play in Three Acts
• Translated by William Archer," T. Fisher Unwin, London, 1889 — the first edition of this specific, historically important English translation
• This is the text tied to the June 7, 1889 Novelty Theatre production in London (Charles Charrington and Janet Achurch), the performance generally credited with establishing Ibsen with English-speaking audiences
• T. Fisher Unwin issued a limited edition of 115 copies of this translation together with photographs from the Achurch/Charrington production
• Archer's translation was later folded into his own multi-volume collected Ibsen's Prose Dramas, so a first-edition copy must carry the 1889 T. Fisher Unwin single-play imprint rather than a later collected-works volume

How T. Fisher Unwin marked a first edition

• Late-Victorian house that stated editions more explicitly than the earlier three-decker firms: many firsts carry a printed title-page date, and a first shows the original date with no later-impression notice and no repri…
• Series volumes (Pseudonym Library, Autonym Library, Mermaid Series) carry series numbering; the series setting is the first appearance for many original titles but a reprint for classics — verify which for each book.

Full T. Fisher Unwin first-edition guide →

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. 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?

An earlier English translation, "Nora: A Play," by Henrietta Frances Lord, was published by Griffith, Farran & Co., London, in 1882 and used for an amateur production at a hall in Argyle Street, London, in 1885, giving it technical priority as the first English-language edition of the play; the Archer/Unwin 1889 edition is nonetheless the edition collected and cited as Ibsen's English-language breakthrough text.P-036248

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Doll's House a first edition?

A first edition of A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen (translated by William Archer) (T. Fisher Unwin) is identified by: Title page reads "A Doll's House.

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. An earlier English translation, "Nora: A Play," by Henrietta Frances Lord, was published by Griffith, Farran & Co., London, in 1882 and used for an amateur production at a hall in Argyle Street, London, in 1885, giving it technical priority as the first English-language edition of the play; the Archer/Unwin 1889 edition is nonetheless the edition collected and cited as Ibsen's English-language breakthrough text.

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

No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first; look for a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price.

I have a first edition of A Doll's House — 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.