# Is "A Study in Scarlet" by Arthur Conan Doyle a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (Ward, Lock & Co., 1887) 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. True first = Beeton's Christmas Annual 1887, one of the great rarities of detective fiction.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Ward, Lock & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Arthur Conan Doyle |
| Publisher | Ward, Lock & Co. |
| Year | 1887 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first appearance is in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887, the first Sherlock Holmes story, in pictorial paper wrappers — exceedingly… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Study in Scarlet* by Arthur Conan Doyle a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-study-in-scarlet
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.