Is My Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, three volumes, published anonymously ('by the author of Waverley') on 24 February 1815 in an edition of 2,000 copies; the Edinburgh share sold out within a day of publication and was followed within months by separate second and third printings totaling 5,000 further copies
• First-edition sets show the original three-volume collation with a half-title present in each volume and top edges left untrimmed as issued, and Worthington's bibliography records a further cancel leaf at pages 173-176 (signed h3 and h4) in volume two of genuine first-edition sets
• No author's name appears anywhere in the volumes, and genuine February 1815 sheets predate the March and May 1815 reprint settings

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. 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.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The rapid March and May 1815 reprintings, together totaling roughly 5,000 additional copies, are resettings rather than the original type; only sheets from the initial February 1815 print run, identifiable by the volume-two cancel leaf and collation above, constitute the true first edition.P-034768

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer a first edition?

A first edition of Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer by Walter Scott (Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown) is identified by: First edition, three volumes, published anonymously ('by the author of Waverley') on 24 February 1815 in an edition of 2,000 copies; the Edinburgh share sold out within a day of publication and was followed within months by separate second and third printings totaling 5,000 further copies.

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.

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

The rapid March and May 1815 reprintings, together totaling roughly 5,000 additional copies, are resettings rather than the original type; only sheets from the initial February 1815 print run, identifiable by the volume-two cancel leaf and collation above, constitute the true first edition.

I have a first edition of Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer — 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.