# Is "John Halifax, Gentleman" by Dinah Maria Craik (Mrs. Craik / Dinah Mulock) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of John Halifax, Gentleman by Dinah Maria Craik (Mrs. Craik / Dinah Mulock) (Hurst and Blackett, 1856) is identified by: First edition, three volumes ('triple decker'), bound in original olive-brown wavy-grained cloth, boards blocked in blind, spines lettered in gilt.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, three volumes ('triple decker'), bound in original olive-brown wavy-grained cloth, boards blocked in blind, spines lettered in gilt
- Publisher's advertisements appear as 3pp. at the front of volume I, an advertisement on the verso of the final leaf of volume II, and a final advertisement leaf in volume III -- the presence and placement of these ad leaves in all three volumes is the key collation check
- Cited as Sadleir 1812 and Wolff 4996; described by the trade as very scarce in the original first-edition cloth
- Publisher imprint reads Hurst and Blackett
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dinah Maria Craik (Mrs. Craik / Dinah Mulock) |
| Publisher | Hurst and Blackett |
| Year | 1856 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, three volumes ('triple decker'), bound in original olive-brown wavy-grained cloth, boards blocked in blind, spines lettered… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, three volumes ('triple decker'), bound in original olive-brown wavy-grained cloth, boards blocked in blind, spines lettered in gilt. Publisher's advertisements appear as 3pp. at the front of volume I, an advertisement on the verso of the final leaf of volume II, and a final advertisement leaf in volume III -- the presence and placement of these ad leaves in all three volumes is the key collation check. Cited as Sadleir 1812 and Wolff 4996; described by the trade as very scarce in the original first-edition cloth.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *John Halifax, Gentleman* by Dinah Maria Craik (Mrs. Craik / Dinah Mulock) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/john-halifax-gentleman
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.