Is My Condensed Novels a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition (BAL 7240), collating x, 307 pages, gathering fifteen literary parodies of authors including Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, and Wilkie Collins, plus miscellaneous 'Civic Sketches,' illustrated throughout by Frank Bellew
• This G. W. Carleton & Co. printing of 1867 is the true first appearance of the text in book form
• Genuine first-edition copies are recorded bound in more than one contemporary cloth color, so binding color alone should not be relied on to confirm the printing; collation, contents, and the Bellew illustrations are the reliable identifiers

How G. W. Carleton & Co. marked a first edition

• 1857–1861 (Rudd & Carleton): first editions carry the 'Rudd & Carleton' imprint; there is no first-edition statement, so identify by imprint form, the dated title page, and the absence of any later-printing notice.
• 1861–c.1886 (G.W. Carleton / G.W. Carleton & Co.): first printing is identified by the Carleton imprint, a dated title page agreeing with the copyright, and bound-in advertisement catalogs. The publisher's catalog (frequ…

Full G. W. Carleton & 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. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. 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.
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.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A later 'enlarged edition' issued by James R. Osgood & Co. of Boston in 1871 (BAL 7255) is a different, later printing: it drops the original 'Civic Sketches' and other miscellaneous pieces, adds two new parodies ('Handsome is as Handsome Does' and 'Lothaw'), and carries new illustrations by S. Eytinge, Jr. rather than Frank Bellew. It is more commonly found on the market than the scarce 1867 Carleton first edition and should not be mistaken for it.P-034748

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Condensed Novels a first edition?

A first edition of Condensed Novels by Bret Harte (G. W. Carleton & Co.) is identified by: First edition (BAL 7240), collating x, 307 pages, gathering fifteen literary parodies of authors including Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, and Wilkie Collins, plus miscellaneous 'Civic Sketches,' illustrated throughout by Frank Bellew.

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.

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

A later 'enlarged edition' issued by James R. Osgood & Co. of Boston in 1871 (BAL 7255) is a different, later printing: it drops the original 'Civic Sketches' and other miscellaneous pieces, adds two new parodies ('Handsome is as Handsome Does' and 'Lothaw'), and carries new illustrations by S. Eytinge, Jr. rather than Frank Bellew. It is more commonly found on the market than the scarce 1867 Carleton first edition and should not be mistaken for it.

I have a first edition of Condensed Novels — 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.