# Is "Cranford" by Elizabeth Gaskell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (Chapman and Hall, 1853) is identified by: First book edition, one volume, Chapman and Hall, London, 1853, in original cloth. The London Chapman and Hall 1853 one-volume edition is the true first book edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First book edition, one volume, Chapman and Hall, London, 1853, in original cloth
- Follows the serialization in Dickens's Household Words (1851-53)
- Title page dated 1853; first published June 1853 (a second printing followed in August 1853)
- Publisher imprint reads Chapman and Hall
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Elizabeth Gaskell |
| Publisher | Chapman and Hall |
| Year | 1853 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First book edition, one volume, Chapman and Hall, London, 1853, in original cloth |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First book edition, one volume, Chapman and Hall, London, 1853, in original cloth. Follows the serialization in Dickens's Household Words (1851-53). Title page dated 1853; first published June 1853 (a second printing followed in August 1853).

## Is this the true first?
The London Chapman and Hall 1853 one-volume edition is the true first book edition. Distinguish it from the Household Words serial appearance (1851-53), which precedes the book but is not a separate edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Illustrated later editions (for example the Hugh Thomson illustrated edition of 1891) are 'first thus' only, not the first edition. A second printing appeared in August 1853.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Cranford* by Elizabeth Gaskell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/cranford
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.