# Is "In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?" by Charles M. Sheldon a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do? by Charles M. Sheldon (Advance Publishing Company, 1897) is identified by: The only authorized first edition is the Chicago Advance Publishing Company printing of 1897; the novel had run serially in the religious weekly The Advance beginning in November 1896, and the book's preface is dated November 1897, Topeka, Kansas.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The only authorized first edition is the Chicago Advance Publishing Company printing of 1897; the novel had run serially in the religious weekly The Advance beginning in November 1896, and the book's preface is dated November 1897, Topeka, Kansas
- First-edition copies are bound in purple cloth stamped in silver, with decorated endpapers
- Publisher imprint reads Advance Publishing Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charles M. Sheldon |
| Publisher | Advance Publishing Company |
| Year | 1897 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The only authorized first edition is the Chicago Advance Publishing Company printing of 1897; the novel had run serially in the religious… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The only authorized first edition is the Chicago Advance Publishing Company printing of 1897; the novel had run serially in the religious weekly The Advance beginning in November 1896, and the book's preface is dated November 1897, Topeka, Kansas. First-edition copies are bound in purple cloth stamped in silver, with decorated endpapers.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Advance Publishing Company failed to register the copyright in the legally required form, and numerous competing publishers rushed out unauthorized editions within months without paying Sheldon royalties; a copy not carrying the Chicago Advance Publishing Company imprint and the November 1897, Topeka preface is one of these unauthorized printings rather than the true first edition, regardless of whether it is dated 1897 or 1898.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?* by Charles M. Sheldon a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/in-his-steps-what-would-jesus-do
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.