Is My Handley Cross; or, Mr. Jorrocks's Hunt a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first edition of the text: an unillustrated three-volume novel published anonymously by Henry Colburn in 1843, attributed on the title page only to 'the Author of Jorrocks's Jaunts and Jollities.' Critically, the 1843 title page itself reads 'Handley Cross; or, The Spa Hunt
• A Sporting Tale' -- not the now-familiar 'Mr
• Jorrocks's Hunt' subtitle, which was not adopted until Surtees's later revision
• The true first runs to over 900 pages, bound in red cloth-covered boards with gilt top edge
• It must be distinguished from the far more celebrated illustrated edition, a substantially revised and expanded text issued by Bradbury and Evans in seventeen original monthly parts (March 1853-October 1854) under the retitled 'Mr
• Jorrocks's Hunt,' with hand-colored plates by John Leech -- a different, later, and separately collected edition, not a variant issue of the 1843 text

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.

Is this the true first?

The unillustrated 1843 Colburn three-volume edition, titled on its title page 'Handley Cross; or, The Spa Hunt,' has textual and bibliographic priority as the true first; it followed unillustrated serialization in the New Sporting Magazine, which does not constitute prior book publication. The John Leech-illustrated 1853-54 Bradbury and Evans edition is a distinct, heavily revised and expanded later edition, issued under the different and now more familiar title 'Handley Cross; or, Mr. Jorrocks's Hunt,' and should not be mistaken for a variant of the true first.P-034943

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Every subsequent printing -- the 1854 Bradbury and Evans first illustrated edition, the 1888 subscription reissue, and later Leech-illustrated reprints -- carries the 'Mr. Jorrocks's Hunt' title, so that title alone cannot identify a first edition. Only a three-volume, unillustrated set titled 'Handley Cross; or, The Spa Hunt' and dated 1843 with the Colburn imprint is the true first.P-034944

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Handley Cross; or, Mr. Jorrocks's Hunt a first edition?

A first edition of Handley Cross; or, Mr. Jorrocks's Hunt by Robert Smith Surtees (Henry Colburn) is identified by: True first edition of the text: an unillustrated three-volume novel published anonymously by Henry Colburn in 1843, attributed on the title page only to 'the Author of Jorrocks's Jaunts and Jollities.' Critically, the 1843 title page itself reads 'Handley Cross; or, The Spa Hunt.

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 unillustrated 1843 Colburn three-volume edition, titled on its title page 'Handley Cross; or, The Spa Hunt,' has textual and bibliographic priority as the true first; it followed unillustrated serialization in the New Sporting Magazine, which does not constitute prior book publication.

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

Every subsequent printing -- the 1854 Bradbury and Evans first illustrated edition, the 1888 subscription reissue, and later Leech-illustrated reprints -- carries the 'Mr. Jorrocks's Hunt' title, so that title alone cannot identify a first edition. Only a three-volume, unillustrated set titled 'Handley Cross; or, The Spa Hunt' and dated 1843 with the Colburn imprint is the true first.

I have a first edition of Handley Cross; or, Mr. Jorrocks's Hunt — 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.