Is My Les Misérables a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first authorized British translation, its distribution rights purchased directly from Hugo and its translator, Sir Frederick Charles Lascelles Wraxall, recommended to him by the exiled French writer Alphonse Esquiros, was published by Hurst and Blackett, London, complete in October 1862
• The first edition is bound in red quarter roan with a gilt-lettered and decorated spine over red pebble-grain cloth sides, marbled endpapers and edges, collating as three octavo volumes rather than the five-part form in which Hugo originally conceived the novel
• Wraxall, who considered himself an authority on the Battle of Waterloo, altered or cut passages where Hugo's account of Napoleon's downfall conflicted with his own historical views, so the authorized British text differs from Hugo's French original in places, and it also leaves scattered lines of dialogue untranslated

How Hurst and Blackett marked a first edition

• Late 1880s to about 1920: many firsts of this era carry no printing statement at all, so dating relies on the title-page date and on dated rear advertisement catalogs; later printings note reprints. Number lines do not a…
• About 1920 to about 1960: 'First published (year)' or 'First published in Great Britain (year)' on the copyright page; a first impression lists no reprints, while later printings add dated 'Reprinted' or 'New impression'…

Full Hurst and Blackett first-edition guide →

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. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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?

Chronological and textual priority for the first complete English translation actually belongs to Charles E. Wilbour's American edition, published in New York by Carleton in five volumes issued monthly from June to October 1862 and widely credited by booksellers as the first edition in English; Hurst and Blackett's Wraxall translation, complete the same month, is properly the first authorized British edition, its United Kingdom distribution rights having been purchased directly from Hugo.P-036284

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

All later unabridged English translations - by Isabel Hapgood, Norman Denny, Julie Rose, and others - are independent, more literal renderings unconnected to Wraxall's altered 1862 text; Wilbour's own 1862 Carleton translation is likewise independent of Wraxall, being a separate, contemporaneous American rendering rather than a later one, and a modern one-volume translation credited to a different translator is not descended from the Hurst and Blackett first edition.P-036285

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Les Misérables a first edition?

A first edition of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (Hurst and Blackett) is identified by: The first authorized British translation, its distribution rights purchased directly from Hugo and its translator, Sir Frederick Charles Lascelles Wraxall, recommended to him by the exiled French writer Alphonse Esquiros, was published by Hurst and Blackett, London, complete in October 1862.

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. Chronological and textual priority for the first complete English translation actually belongs to Charles E.

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

All later unabridged English translations - by Isabel Hapgood, Norman Denny, Julie Rose, and others - are independent, more literal renderings unconnected to Wraxall's altered 1862 text; Wilbour's own 1862 Carleton translation is likewise independent of Wraxall, being a separate, contemporaneous American rendering rather than a later one, and a modern one-volume translation credited to a different translator is not descended from the Hurst and Blackett first edition.

I have a first edition of Les Misérables — 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.