Is My Copy of De Profundis a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition (trade issue): Methuen & Co., 36 Essex Street, London, February 1905, edited by Robert Ross
• Bound in gilt-decorated blue cloth (title and device in gilt on the upper cover and spine), collating 151 pp., with a 40-page publisher's catalogue at the rear dated February 1905 — the first-issue point; a later issue carries advertisements dated March 1905
• Separately, a large-paper issue was limited to 200 copies on handmade paper, with a further deluxe issue of fifty copies on japon in original limp vellum bearing gilt vignettes by Charles Ricketts; the Ricketts decoration belongs to these large-paper/vellum issues, NOT to the ordinary blue-cloth trade edition (a common conflation to avoid)
• The book was reprinted several times within 1905

How Methuen & Co., London marked a first edition

• Since 1905: state "First published in [Year]" or "First published in Great Britain [Year]" on the copyright page of firsts, with later printings noted
• First printing = the 'First published' statement (post-1905) OR absence of any 'thousand'/reprint notation (pre-1905)

Full Methuen & Co., London 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. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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?

Methuen (London), February 1905 is the true first; the American G.P. Putnam's Sons edition also appeared in 1905 and followed. 'First thus' caution: this 1905 text is Robert Ross's heavily abridged/redacted version — the complete unexpurgated text was not published until 1962, so 'first edition' here means the 1905 Methuen abridgment, not the full work.P-045018

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Rapidly reprinted within 1905 (second, third and later impressions the same year); later issues carry March-1905 or subsequent advertisements rather than the February 1905 catalogue. No book-club issue documented for the 1905 first.P-045019

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of De Profundis a first edition?

A first edition of De Profundis by Oscar Wilde (Methuen & Co., London) is identified by: First edition (trade issue): Methuen & Co., 36 Essex Street, London, February 1905, edited by Robert Ross.

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. Methuen (London), February 1905 is the true first; the American G.P. Putnam's Sons edition also appeared in 1905 and followed.

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

Rapidly reprinted within 1905 (second, third and later impressions the same year); later issues carry March-1905 or subsequent advertisements rather than the February 1905 catalogue. No book-club issue documented for the 1905 first.

I have a first edition of De Profundis — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.