# Is "English Traits" by Ralph Waldo Emerson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of English Traits by Ralph Waldo Emerson (Phillips, Sampson and Company, 1856) is identified by: First edition, Boston: Phillips, Sampson and Company, 1856, 312 pages, issued in cloth-binding variants of both brown and black with no established priority between them (Myerson A24.1).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Boston: Phillips, Sampson and Company, 1856, 312 pages, issued in cloth-binding variants of both brown and black with no established priority between them (Myerson A24.1)
- Myerson's first-state points include "
- " printed on the half-title, the note "Stereotyped at the Boston Stereotype Foundry" on the title-page verso, and battered/damaged type visible on page 230
- Textual first-state points include the misprint "dpended" for "depended" on page 90 and "temperature" for "temperament" on page 82
- Standard references: BAL 5226
- Myerson A24.1.a
- Publisher imprint reads Phillips, Sampson and Company

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ralph Waldo Emerson |
| Publisher | Phillips, Sampson and Company |
| Year | 1856 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, Boston: Phillips, Sampson and Company, 1856, 312 pages, issued in cloth-binding variants of both brown and black with no… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, Boston: Phillips, Sampson and Company, 1856, 312 pages, issued in cloth-binding variants of both brown and black with no established priority between them (Myerson A24.1). Myerson's first-state points include "(1)" printed on the half-title, the note "Stereotyped at the Boston Stereotype Foundry" on the title-page verso, and battered/damaged type visible on page 230. Textual first-state points include the misprint "dpended" for "depended" on page 90 and "temperature" for "temperament" on page 82. Standard references: BAL 5226; Myerson A24.1.a.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Houghton, Mifflin's later Riverside and Complete Works printings reset the type; they lack the half-title numeral, the Boston Stereotype Foundry note, and the page-230 battered type and page-82/90 misprints recorded above.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *English Traits* by Ralph Waldo Emerson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/english-traits
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.