Is My Crime and Punishment a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first English-language edition was published by Vizetelly & Co., London, in April 1886, as number XIII in Vizetelly's 'One-Volume Novels' series, translated (via Victor Derely's 1884 French version rather than directly from the Russian) in a translation usually credited to Frederick Whishaw, although bibliographer Maurice B. Line has argued that attribution originates from an error in the 1911 Everyman's Library edition rather than the 1886 book itself
• The genuine first-issue point is a publisher's advertisement printed on the verso of the half-title page, present only on the earliest sheets
• An American edition from Thomas Y. Crowell followed later the same year, in October 1886, using the same translation

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

Is this the true first?

The Vizetelly London edition (April 1886) precedes the Crowell New York edition (October 1886), which reprints the same English text.P-036093

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Most surviving Vizetelly-imprint copies are later issues without the verso-of-half-title advertisement of the true first; twentieth-century Everyman's Library, Modern Library, and Penguin editions use entirely different, direct-from-Russian translations (by Garnett, Coulson, Pevear and Volokhonsky, and others) unconnected to the 1886 first edition's text.P-036094

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Crime and Punishment a first edition?

A first edition of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Vizetelly & Co.) is identified by: The first English-language edition was published by Vizetelly & Co., London, in April 1886, as number XIII in Vizetelly's 'One-Volume Novels' series, translated (via Victor Derely's 1884 French version rather than directly from the Russian) in a translation usually credited to Frederick Whishaw, although bibliographer Maurice B.

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. The Vizetelly London edition (April 1886) precedes the Crowell New York edition (October 1886), which reprints the same English text.

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

Most surviving Vizetelly-imprint copies are later issues without the verso-of-half-title advertisement of the true first; twentieth-century Everyman's Library, Modern Library, and Penguin editions use entirely different, direct-from-Russian translations (by Garnett, Coulson, Pevear and Volokhonsky, and others) unconnected to the 1886 first edition's text.

I have a first edition of Crime and Punishment — 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.