# Is "A Pair of Blue Eyes" by Thomas Hardy a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy (Tinsley Brothers, 1873) is identified by: First edition in book form in three small-octavo volumes, London: Tinsley Brothers, 1873, from a small print run of approximately 500 copies, issued in publisher's green cloth. The Tinsley Brothers three-decker is the true first and is the first of Hardy's novels to carry his name on the title page — his earlier Desperate Remedies (1871) and Under the Greenwood Tree (1872) had appeared anonymously.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition in book form in three small-octavo volumes, London: Tinsley Brothers, 1873, from a small print run of approximately 500 copies, issued in publisher's green cloth
- Collation runs [6], 303, [1 blank]; [6], 311, [1 blank]; [6], 262 pp., and a complete copy retains the half-titles in all three volumes; volume III normally ends with a 16-page Tinsley Brothers catalogue dated March 1873, which is frequently lacking
- Dealers also cite a first-state typographic point, a mis-aligned 'c' in 'clouds' at volume II page 5
- Original cloth is very scarce and the book is frequently found rebound
- Publisher imprint reads Tinsley Brothers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Thomas Hardy |
| Publisher | Tinsley Brothers |
| Year | 1873 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition in book form in three small-octavo volumes, London: Tinsley Brothers, 1873, from a small print run of approximately 500… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition in book form in three small-octavo volumes, London: Tinsley Brothers, 1873, from a small print run of approximately 500 copies, issued in publisher's green cloth. Collation runs [6], 303, [1 blank]; [6], 311, [1 blank]; [6], 262 pp., and a complete copy retains the half-titles in all three volumes; volume III normally ends with a 16-page Tinsley Brothers catalogue dated March 1873, which is frequently lacking. Dealers also cite a first-state typographic point, a mis-aligned 'c' in 'clouds' at volume II page 5. Original cloth is very scarce and the book is frequently found rebound.

## Is this the true first?
The Tinsley Brothers three-decker is the true first and is the first of Hardy's novels to carry his name on the title page — his earlier Desperate Remedies (1871) and Under the Greenwood Tree (1872) had appeared anonymously. It follows serialization in Tinsleys' Magazine (September 1872-July 1873). An American edition (Henry Holt, Leisure Hour Series) also appeared in 1873 but is later; the London edition is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Michael Sadleir ranked it No. I in his 'Comparative Scarcities,' i.e. Hardy's scarcest first edition. No book-club issue is at stake for the 1873 first; watch for later Osgood/McIlvaine and Macmillan Wessex-format reprints, which are 'first thus,' not the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Pair of Blue Eyes* by Thomas Hardy a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-pair-of-blue-eyes
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.