Is My Jude the Obscure a First Edition?

The points of issue

• One volume, issued as Volume VIII of the Wessex Novels collected set and the first separate book edition
• The title page is dated 1896 although the book was actually published in November 1895
• Points include the 1896-dated title page, the etched frontispiece of Christminster by H. Macbeth-Raeburn with its facing caption leaf, and Hardy's own map of 'The Wessex of the Novels' bound in the volume; issued in the green cloth of the Wessex series

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. 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.
3. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
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 Osgood, McIlvaine edition (title page dated 1896, published November 1895) is the first English book edition. A Harper American edition appeared at nearly the same time following serialization in Harper's Magazine; precedence between the two is debated, so confidence on which strictly precedes should remain modest.P-031149

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Macmillan collected-edition printings are not the first.P-031150

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Jude the Obscure a first edition?

A first edition of Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (Osgood, McIlvaine & Co.) is identified by: One volume, issued as Volume VIII of the Wessex Novels collected set and the first separate book edition.

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 Osgood, McIlvaine edition (title page dated 1896, published November 1895) is the first English book edition.

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

Later Macmillan collected-edition printings are not the first.

I have a first edition of Jude the Obscure — 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.