Is My Evelina a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, published anonymously in January 1778: three volumes, 12mo (approx
• 169 x 94 mm), signatures [A]2 a6 B-K12 L10; [A]12 B-L12; [A]12 B-L12
• The two standard identifying points are the errata on the verso of the last leaf of the preface and the publisher's advertisements present in each of the three volumes (Rothschild 545)
• The title-page reading is itself a point: the first and second editions read 'Evelina, or a Young Lady's Entrance into the World', while the longer 'or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World' belongs to the third edition of 1779 and after
• Bonhams has recorded variant type settings of pp
• 121-2 and 143-4 in volume III, catalogued as a previously unidentified state of the first edition; that is an open observation rather than a settled test, and should not be used on its own to reject a copy

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. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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?

A London original written in English, so no UK-versus-US and no original-language precedence question arises — the 1778 Lowndes three-volume set is the only true first. The anonymity is part of the identification: the first edition carries no author's name on the title page, Burney having concealed her authorship from Lowndes (the manuscript was delivered by her brother in disguise and copied out in a hand unlike her own). The census note's claim about the sum Burney received is biographical, not a point of issue, and is not an identification test.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issues exist for this title. The reprint trap is speed: the novel ran through roughly five editions by 1779, all under the same T. Lowndes London imprint, so an early Lowndes set is not automatically the first. The third edition (1779) is the easiest to eliminate on sight because its title page inserts 'the History of'; for the second edition, fall back on the errata leaf and the advertisement leaves.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Evelina a first edition?

A first edition of Evelina by Frances Burney (T. Lowndes, London) is identified by: First edition, published anonymously in January 1778: three volumes, 12mo (approx.

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. A London original written in English, so no UK-versus-US and no original-language precedence question arises — the 1778 Lowndes three-volume set is the only true first.

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

No book-club issues exist for this title. The reprint trap is speed: the novel ran through roughly five editions by 1779, all under the same T. Lowndes London imprint, so an early Lowndes set is not automatically the first. The third edition (1779) is the easiest to eliminate on sight because its title page inserts 'the History of'; for the second edition, fall back on the errata leaf and the advertisement leaves.

I have a first edition of Evelina — 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.