# Is "Barchester Towers" by Anthony Trollope a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope (Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts, 1857) is identified by: Three octavo volumes with 1857 title pages and half-titles. The UK Longman 1857 three-decker is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Three octavo volumes with 1857 title pages and half-titles
- Documented first-issue textual point: the misprint 'tattooed' for 'tabooed' at volume II, page 269, line 24
- The earliest copies have brick-red endpapers and retain the publisher's advertisements, including the advertisement for The Warden in volume I (often later excised)
- Collation: Vol
- I half-title, title, viii, 305 pp.; Vol
- II title, iv, 299 pp.; Vol
- Publisher imprint reads Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Anthony Trollope |
| Publisher | Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts |
| Year | 1857 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Three octavo volumes with 1857 title pages and half-titles |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Three octavo volumes with 1857 title pages and half-titles. Documented first-issue textual point: the misprint 'tattooed' for 'tabooed' at volume II, page 269, line 24. The earliest copies have brick-red endpapers and retain the publisher's advertisements, including the advertisement for The Warden in volume I (often later excised). Collation: Vol. I half-title, title, viii, 305 pp.; Vol. II title, iv, 299 pp.; Vol. III title, iv, 321 pp.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Longman 1857 three-decker is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
One-volume reprints and later resettings are not the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Barchester Towers* by Anthony Trollope a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/barchester-towers
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.