# Is "Dr. Sevier" by George Washington Cable a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Dr. Sevier by George Washington Cable (James R. Osgood and Company, 1885) is identified by: First American edition (BAL 2339), an octavo of 473 pages bound in mustard cloth stamped in black and gilt. The British edition (David Douglas, Edinburgh, 2 vols., 1884) preceded the American one-volume first edition (Osgood, Boston, 1885) by roughly a year.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First American edition (BAL 2339), an octavo of 473 pages bound in mustard cloth stamped in black and gilt
- The first issue is identified by the absence of a table of contents, which was added in the second issue
- A British edition, published in Edinburgh by David Douglas in two volumes, appeared in 1884, a year ahead of the Osgood one-volume American edition
- Publisher imprint reads James R. Osgood and Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George Washington Cable |
| Publisher | James R. Osgood and Company |
| Year | 1885 |
| True first | British edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First American edition (BAL 2339), an octavo of 473 pages bound in mustard cloth stamped in black and gilt |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First American edition (BAL 2339), an octavo of 473 pages bound in mustard cloth stamped in black and gilt. The first issue is identified by the absence of a table of contents, which was added in the second issue. A British edition, published in Edinburgh by David Douglas in two volumes, appeared in 1884, a year ahead of the Osgood one-volume American edition.

## Is this the true first?
The British edition (David Douglas, Edinburgh, 2 vols., 1884) preceded the American one-volume first edition (Osgood, Boston, 1885) by roughly a year.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Dr. Sevier* by George Washington Cable a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/dr-sevier
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.