# Is "Caesar's Column" by Ignatius Donnelly (credited as Edmund Boisgilbert, M.D.) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Caesar's Column by Ignatius Donnelly (credited as Edmund Boisgilbert, M.D.) (F. J. Schulte & Co., 1890) is identified by: First edition, octavo, 367 pp., bound in cloth with gilt lettering. A first British edition followed in 1891 from Sampson Low, Marston & Co., London, stating "authorised edition" on its title page and bound in brown pebble-grain cloth-backed green boards with gilt stamping and gilt top edge; it postdates the 1890 Chicago first edition by about a year.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, octavo, 367 pp., bound in cloth with gilt lettering
- The title page credits the author pseudonymously as "Edmund Boisgilbert, M.D." -- Donnelly did not publicly claim authorship at the time of first publication
- Donnelly was a former U.S. Congressman and prominent Populist figure when he wrote the book, and the pseudonym was intended to let the dystopian story be judged on its own terms rather than as a partisan tract
- Publisher imprint reads F. J. Schulte & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ignatius Donnelly (credited as Edmund Boisgilbert, M.D.) |
| Publisher | F. J. Schulte & Co. |
| Year | 1890 |
| True first | British edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, octavo, 367 pp., bound in cloth with gilt lettering |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, octavo, 367 pp., bound in cloth with gilt lettering. The title page credits the author pseudonymously as "Edmund Boisgilbert, M.D." -- Donnelly did not publicly claim authorship at the time of first publication. Donnelly was a former U.S. Congressman and prominent Populist figure when he wrote the book, and the pseudonym was intended to let the dystopian story be judged on its own terms rather than as a partisan tract.

## Is this the true first?
A first British edition followed in 1891 from Sampson Low, Marston & Co., London, stating "authorised edition" on its title page and bound in brown pebble-grain cloth-backed green boards with gilt stamping and gilt top edge; it postdates the 1890 Chicago first edition by about a year. A separate British printing from Frederick Warne, issued in paper wrappers the same year, appears to be an unauthorized rival edition rather than the true first British issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Caesar's Column* by Ignatius Donnelly (credited as Edmund Boisgilbert, M.D.) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/caesars-column
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.