Is My Copy of Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (The Sorrows of Young Werther) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Published anonymously at Leipzig for the autumn 1774 book fair: two parts in one volume, 224 pages, small 8vo (approx. 16.5 x 10 cm), with an engraved title vignette associated with Adam Friedrich Oeser
• The decisive test is the final page (p. 224): the first printing carries the errata list (Druckfehlerverzeichnis), which the second printing replaces with a woodcut vignette — described by German dealers as a scythe with a winged hourglass
• The first printing also shows the uncorrected page number 36 where 39 is called for
• Copies vary at pp. 16 and 101 through stop-press correction, and dealers cite these alongside the errata-versus-vignette test rather than in place of it; treat pp. 16/101 as a supporting observation, not a stand-alone point
• References: Hagen 80
• Goedeke IV/3, 163, 1

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. 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.

Is this the true first?

The Leipzig 1774 German original is the true first; everything else is a translation or a later authorial revision. The title itself is a precedence point: the 1774 first edition reads 'Die Leiden des jungen Werthers' with the genitive -s, while Goethe's substantially revised second version (Göschen, Leipzig, 1787) drops it to 'Leiden des jungen Werther' and is a different text, not a reprint. The first edition in English — 'The Sorrows of Werter: A German Story' (London: printed for J. Dodsley, 1779), two volumes in one — was made from a French intermediary rather than from Goethe's German, and is attributed to Daniel Malthus, though Richard Graves has also been proposed; it is collected as the first edition in English, not as a first edition of the work.P-041412

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issues exist for this title. Weygand's authorised second edition ('Zweyte ächte Auflage', Leipzig, 1775) followed, and unauthorised reprints appeared quickly — among them Christian Friedrich Himburg's Berlin piracy of 1779, which already carries alterations to the authorised 1774/75 text. A Weygand-style Leipzig imprint therefore proves nothing on its own: apply the errata-versus-vignette test at p. 224. Twentieth-century facsimile reprints of the 1774 setting are common and are frequently mistaken for the original.P-041413

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (The Sorrows of Young Werther) a first edition?

A first edition of Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (The Sorrows of Young Werther) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Weygandsche Buchhandlung) is identified by: Published anonymously at Leipzig for the autumn 1774 book fair: two parts in one volume, 224 pages, small 8vo (approx. 16.5 x 10 cm), with an engraved title vignette associated with Adam Friedrich Oeser.

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 Leipzig 1774 German original is the true first; everything else is a translation or a later authorial revision.

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

No book-club issues exist for this title. Weygand's authorised second edition ('Zweyte ächte Auflage', Leipzig, 1775) followed, and unauthorised reprints appeared quickly — among them Christian Friedrich Himburg's Berlin piracy of 1779, which already carries alterations to the authorised 1774/75 text. A Weygand-style Leipzig imprint therefore proves nothing on its own: apply the errata-versus-vignette test at p. 224.

I have a first edition of Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (The Sorrows of Young Werther) — 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.