Is My Emma a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Three volumes, title pages dated 1816 (the book went on sale 23 December 1815, hence the common note of late-1815 issue)
• Title pages read 'Emma: A Novel
• In Three Volumes
• By the Author of "Pride and Prejudice," &c. &c.', published by John Murray
• The dedication to the Prince Regent is a required leaf
• The first volume's collation is distinctive: the opening sheet carries only the title page and the dedication, with the half-title printed on what would otherwise be the last blank leaf

How John Murray marked a first edition

• No formal edition statement on most 19th-century Murray firsts: identify by the title-page date with no 'New Edition' / 'Second Edition' / number-of-thousand line, the correct imprint ('John Murray, Albemarle Street'), a…

Full John Murray first-edition guide →

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. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
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 UK Murray 1816 three-decker is the true first; the contemporaneous Philadelphia (Carey) 1816 edition is the first American but secondary. The dedication leaf to the Prince Regent is a required point.P-014004

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later one-volume reprints lack the three-decker format and the original Murray imprint and are not the first.P-014005

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Emma a first edition?

A first edition of Emma by Jane Austen ('By the Author of "Pride and Prejudice"') (John Murray) is identified by: Three volumes, title pages dated 1816 (the book went on sale 23 December 1815, hence the common note of late-1815 issue).

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 UK Murray 1816 three-decker is the true first; the contemporaneous Philadelphia (Carey) 1816 edition is the first American but secondary.

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

Later one-volume reprints lack the three-decker format and the original Murray imprint and are not the first.

I have a first edition of Emma — 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.