Is My Anna Karenina a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first English-language edition was published by Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., New York, in 1886, translated by Nathan Haskell Dole
• First-issue points include sheets bulking to about 35 millimeters, floral-patterned endpapers, the imprint address '13 Astor Place' on the title page, no advertisements at the front of the book, and five pages of advertisements at the rear that do not list any other Russian titles
• Later Crowell printings, expanding the firm's list of Russian authors in translation, add such titles to the rear advertisement pages, making the ad-page contents a reliable point separating first-issue from later-issue sheets

How Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. marked a first edition

• First editions carry only the copyright notice on the copyright page, with NO printing statement and no later-printing notation. The defining tell is the ABSENCE of any 'Second/Third Printing' (etc.) legend under the cop…
• Reprints are flagged by a printing legend beneath the copyright (e.g., 'Second Printing,' 'Third Printing'); a book lacking such a legend is presumed a first. Crowell also commonly placed a colophon at the back of the bo…

Full Thomas Y. Crowell & 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. Verify this is the British 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?

First edition in English, preceding the first British edition.P-036088

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Crowell printings are textually identical but carry expanded advertisement pages listing additional Russian authors; a copy without the plain, Russian-title-free five-page ad section is a later printing rather than the true first issue.P-036089

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Anna Karenina a first edition?

A first edition of Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.) is identified by: The first English-language edition was published by Thomas Y.

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. First edition in English, preceding the first British edition.

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

Later Crowell printings are textually identical but carry expanded advertisement pages listing additional Russian authors; a copy without the plain, Russian-title-free five-page ad section is a later printing rather than the true first issue.

I have a first edition of Anna Karenina — 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.