The points of issue
Issued in eight monthly parts (in seven, the last a double number) in printed wrappers, June to December 1859, with frontispiece, added engraved title, and plates by Phiz (Hablot K. Browne), concurrent with serialization in All the Year Round. The bound first volume (Chapman & Hall, 1859) carries the same plates. Verified textual points in the first printing: page 213 misnumbered '113', and 'affectionately' misprinted as 'affetcionately' at page 134, line 12. In the parts, the original blue-green wrappers and the called-for advertisements and inserted slips are the collation points.
Is this the true first?
The original monthly parts in wrappers are the earliest book-form issue; the bound 1859 volume follows. Textual states (the '113' mispagination and the 'affetcionately' misprint) and, for the parts, the wrappers and advertisement inserts are the points.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later single-volume reprints are not the parts issue.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of A Tale of Two Cities a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: Issued in eight monthly parts (in seven, the last a double number) in printed wrappers, June to December 1859, with frontispiece, added engraved title, and plates by Phiz (Hablot K. Browne), concurrent with serialization in All the Year Round. The bound first volume (Chapman & Hall, 1859) carries the same plates. Verified textual points in the first printing: page 213 misnumbered '113', and 'affectionately' misprinted as 'affetcionately' at page 134, line 12. In the parts, the original blue-green wrappers and the called-for advertisements and inserted slips
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. The original monthly parts in wrappers are the earliest book-form issue; the bound 1859 volume follows. Textual states (the '113' mispagination and the 'affetcionately' misprint) and, for the parts, the wrappers and advertisement inserts are the points.
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
Later single-volume reprints are not the parts issue.
I have a first edition of A Tale of Two Cities — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.