Is My Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical (Gray's Anatomy) -- first American edition a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First American edition, large octavo (about 10 the printed price x 6 the printed price in.), xxxii, 754 pages, illustrated with the original 363 wood-engraved figures after Henry Vandyke Carter's drawings
• Blanchard and Lea reset the type from the 1858 London original, correcting a number of typographical errors present in the first London printing and expanding the index
• The title page reads 'Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea, 1859,' distinguishing it from the London first

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
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.

Is this the true first?

The true first edition of the work is London: John W. Parker and Son, 1858, edited by Henry Gray with illustrations by Henry Vandyke Carter; the Philadelphia, Blanchard and Lea printing described here is the first American edition, issued about a year later, before Blanchard and Lea had purchased full American rights (which they did for their authorized 'American edition' of 1862).P-035636

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

From the 1862 American edition onward, and through some two dozen further American editions into the 20th century, the book was progressively re-edited by other hands after Gray's 1861 death; any title page naming a later editor is a much later revision, not the 1858/1859 original text.P-035637

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical (Gray's Anatomy) -- first American edition a first edition?

A first edition of Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical (Gray's Anatomy) -- first American edition by Henry Gray (Blanchard and Lea) is identified by: First American edition, large octavo (about 10 the printed price x 6 the printed price in.), xxxii, 754 pages, illustrated with the original 363 wood-engraved figures after Henry Vandyke Carter's drawings.

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. The true first edition of the work is London: John W.

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

From the 1862 American edition onward, and through some two dozen further American editions into the 20th century, the book was progressively re-edited by other hands after Gray's 1861 death; any title page naming a later editor is a much later revision, not the 1858/1859 original text.

I have a first edition of Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical (Gray's Anatomy) -- first American edition — 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.