# Is "Capital (Das Kapital), Volume I -- first English translation" by Karl Marx (translated by Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling, edited by Friedrich Engels) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Capital (Das Kapital), Volume I -- first English translation by Karl Marx (translated by Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling, edited by Friedrich Engels) (Swan Sonnenschein, Lowrey & Co., 1887) is identified by: First edition in English of Volume I, translated by Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling from Engels's third German edition (1883) and edited and authorized by Friedrich Engels; published January 1887.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition in English of Volume I, translated by Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling from Engels's third German edition
- and edited and authorized by Friedrich Engels; published January 1887
- Although a translation of a single German volume, it was itself issued in two physical volumes (pp. xxxi,[1],363; [ii],365-816), bound in the publisher's original plum cloth with floral endpapers
- Engels supervised the English wording closely and supplied his own preface identifying the translation as the authorized English edition
- Publisher imprint reads Swan Sonnenschein, Lowrey & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Karl Marx (translated by Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling, edited by Friedrich Engels) |
| Publisher | Swan Sonnenschein, Lowrey & Co. |
| Year | 1887 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition in English of Volume I, translated by Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling from Engels's third German edition |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition in English of Volume I, translated by Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling from Engels's third German edition (1883) and edited and authorized by Friedrich Engels; published January 1887. Although a translation of a single German volume, it was itself issued in two physical volumes (pp. xxxi,[1],363; [ii],365-816), bound in the publisher's original plum cloth with floral endpapers. Engels supervised the English wording closely and supplied his own preface identifying the translation as the authorized English edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
D. Appleton & Co. of New York issued an 1889 printing using the identical sheets printed in London for the Swan Sonnenschein edition, rebound with a new Appleton title leaf as a single volume rather than two -- a secondary issue from the same setting, not the true first. The complete English Capital in three volumes (Engels having compiled Volumes II and III from Marx's manuscripts after Marx's death) was not published until the Charles H. Kerr & Co. Chicago edition of 1906-1909, a much later and textually distinct publication from this 1887 Volume-I-only first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Capital (Das Kapital), Volume I -- first English translation* by Karl Marx (translated by Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling, edited by Friedrich Engels) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/capital-das-kapital-volume-i-first-english-translation
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.