The points of issue
Kipling's first separately published book. The true first is the Lahore issue printed in narrow octavo and bound in printed light-brown wrappers made to imitate an official Indian Civil Service envelope, with an overlapping flap bearing a seal device, the leaves stapled as issued and a ribbon passed through a slit in the flap. Imprint of the Civil and Military Gazette Press. The edition was small (about 500 copies), making the wrapper issue extremely scarce.
Is this the true first?
The 1886 Lahore envelope-format issue is the true first. Later enlarged editions (the second edition printed at Calcutta later in 1886, then the London editions) are secondary and were reset and expanded.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later enlarged Calcutta and London editions are not the Lahore envelope-format first; they are reset and add poems.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of Departmental Ditties and Other Verses a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: Kipling's first separately published book. The true first is the Lahore issue printed in narrow octavo and bound in printed light-brown wrappers made to imitate an official Indian Civil Service envelope, with an overlapping flap bearing a seal device, the leaves stapled as issued and a ribbon passed through a slit in the flap. Imprint of the Civil and Military Gazette Press. The edition was small (about 500 copies), making the wrapper issue extremely scarce.
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. The 1886 Lahore envelope-format issue is the true first. Later enlarged editions (the second edition printed at Calcutta later in 1886, then the London editions) are secondary and were reset and expanded.
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
Later enlarged Calcutta and London editions are not the Lahore envelope-format first; they are reset and add poems.
I have a first edition of Departmental Ditties and Other Verses — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.