Is My A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first issue, two volumes, octavo, issued in the 'Clarendon Press Series.' Each volume has a half-title, and the work is illustrated with 21 lithographic plates -- one bound after page 148 of volume I, the rest gathered at the end of the volumes -- along with numerous in-text diagrams
• Volume I carries an errata slip tipped in before the text, and volume II carries a 15-page publisher's advertisement catalogue at the rear
• In first-issue copies that catalogue still lists the Treatise itself as 'just published'; second-issue copies replace the errata slip with printed errata leaves and drop the 'just published' wording

How Clarendon Press marked a first edition

• Until the late 1980s OUP made NO affirmative first-edition statement; first printings carried only the copyright/publication line, while LATER printings were noted ('Reprinted 19xx,' 'Second impression') on the copyright…
• From the late 1980s OUP adopted a number row/line on the copyright page; the lowest number present indicates the printing ('1' = first).

Full Clarendon Press first-edition guide →

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. 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.
5. 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.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Maxwell was revising the work for a second edition at the time of his death in 1879; that revision, completed by W. D. Niven, appeared in 1881 and reworks substantial sections, so a first edition must be dated 1873 with no edition statement on the title page.P-035511

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism a first edition?

A first edition of A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism by James Clerk Maxwell (Clarendon Press) is identified by: First edition, first issue, two volumes, octavo, issued in the 'Clarendon Press Series.' Each volume has a half-title, and the work is illustrated with 21 lithographic plates -- one bound after page 148 of volume I, the rest gathered at the end of the volumes -- along with numerous in-text diagrams.

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.

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

Maxwell was revising the work for a second edition at the time of his death in 1879; that revision, completed by W. D. Niven, appeared in 1881 and reworks substantial sections, so a first edition must be dated 1873 with no edition statement on the title page.

I have a first edition of A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism — 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.