Is My A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, 1853: tall 8vo, 262 pp. of text (including the index) followed by two pages of publisher's advertisements; stereotyped by Hobart & Robbins (New England Type and Stereotype Foundery, Boston) -- their imprint on the copyright page -- and printed by Damrell & Moore of Boston
• Issued simultaneously under the Boston imprint of John P. Jewett & Company and the Cleveland imprint of Jewett, Proctor and Worthington
• Bound in brown publisher's cloth, spine lettered in bright gilt, boards blind-stamped, with yellow endpapers
• Compiled by Stowe as a documentary companion presenting the facts and documents behind Uncle Tom's Cabin

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 British 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 true first is the 1853 Boston edition (John P. Jewett & Company; Cleveland: Jewett, Proctor and Worthington). Same-year (1853) London editions -- notably Sampson Low, Son & Co. (the first English edition), plus other British reprints such as Clarke, Beeton & Co. -- followed the American edition and do NOT precede it. This documentary 'Key' is a separate book from the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) and should not be conflated with it; unlike the novel, the Key was not serialized in the National Era.P-037536

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book club. The Key was reprinted promptly (later Jewett printings and multiple 1853 London reprints). A genuine American first shows the 262-pp. collation, the Hobart & Robbins stereotype line, and the paired Boston (Jewett) / Cleveland (Jewett, Proctor and Worthington) imprint; later reprints and the London editions carry different imprints or resettings and are not the first.P-037537

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin a first edition?

A first edition of A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (John P. Jewett & Company) is identified by: First edition, 1853: tall 8vo, 262 pp.

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 true first is the 1853 Boston edition (John P.

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

No book club. The Key was reprinted promptly (later Jewett printings and multiple 1853 London reprints). A genuine American first shows the 262-pp. collation, the Hobart & Robbins stereotype line, and the paired Boston (Jewett) / Cleveland (Jewett, Proctor and Worthington) imprint; later reprints and the London editions carry different imprints or resettings and are not the first.

I have a first edition of A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin — 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.