# Is "Foul Play" by Charles Reade and Dion Boucicault a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Foul Play by Charles Reade and Dion Boucicault (Bradbury, Evans and Co., 1868) is identified by: First edition, three volumes, issued in publisher's cloth, co-written with the Irish actor-playwright Dion Boucicault (born Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot) and dramatizing the fraud of unseaworthy, overinsured 'coffin ships.' Volumes two and three carry the original half-titles, a checkable point of collation for this edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, three volumes, issued in publisher's cloth, co-written with the Irish actor-playwright Dion Boucicault (born Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot) and dramatizing the fraud of unseaworthy, overinsured 'coffin ships.' Volumes two and three carry the original half-titles, a checkable point of collation for this edition
- The set also includes a folding facsimile plate of a forged promissory note alongside a genuine handwriting sample attributed to John Wardlaw, the merchant character whose signature is forged by his son in the plot -- the survival of this facsimile plate is itself a collation point worth checking, since folding plates are easily lost from three-decker sets
- Publisher imprint reads Bradbury, Evans and Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charles Reade and Dion Boucicault |
| Publisher | Bradbury, Evans and Co. |
| Year | 1868 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, three volumes, issued in publisher's cloth, co-written with the Irish actor-playwright Dion Boucicault (born Dionysius… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, three volumes, issued in publisher's cloth, co-written with the Irish actor-playwright Dion Boucicault (born Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot) and dramatizing the fraud of unseaworthy, overinsured 'coffin ships.' Volumes two and three carry the original half-titles, a checkable point of collation for this edition. The set also includes a folding facsimile plate of a forged promissory note alongside a genuine handwriting sample attributed to John Wardlaw, the merchant character whose signature is forged by his son in the plot -- the survival of this facsimile plate is itself a collation point worth checking, since folding plates are easily lost from three-decker sets.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Foul Play* by Charles Reade and Dion Boucicault a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/foul-play
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.