Is My A Study in Scarlet a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first appearance is in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887, the first Sherlock Holmes story, in pictorial paper wrappers — exceedingly rare, with only about a dozen complete copies known
• Authentication relies on the original engraved pictorial wrappers (a photographic facsimile shows fine dot patterning under magnification), the integral advertisements, and the two dramatic pieces bound in after the story
• The first separate book edition is Ward, Lock 1888, illustrated by the author's father Charles Doyle

How Ward, Lock & Co. marked a first edition

• No formal edition statement on early firsts: use the title-page date, the absence of a later-printing notice, and the partnership style (Ward & Lock 1854– ; Ward, Lock & Tyler 1865–1873; Ward, Lock & Co. from 1873; Ward,…

Full Ward, Lock & Co. first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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?

True first = Beeton's Christmas Annual 1887, one of the great rarities of detective fiction. First separate book edition = Ward, Lock 1888. The original engraved wrappers and integral advertisements are the key authentication points; many copies survive only as the disbound story without wrappers or ads.P-002396

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The 1888, 1889, and 1891 separate editions are later, and numerous facsimiles of the 1887 Beeton's exist (notably the 1980s reproductions), distinguishable by photographic dot patterning on the wrapper.P-002397

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Study in Scarlet a first edition?

A first edition of A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (Ward, Lock & Co.) is identified by: True first appearance is in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887, the first Sherlock Holmes story, in pictorial paper wrappers — exceedingly rare, with only about a dozen complete copies known.

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. True first = Beeton's Christmas Annual 1887, one of the great rarities of detective fiction.

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

The 1888, 1889, and 1891 separate editions are later, and numerous facsimiles of the 1887 Beeton's exist (notably the 1980s reproductions), distinguishable by photographic dot patterning on the wrapper.

I have a first edition of A Study in Scarlet — 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.