Is My Little Women; or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first issue of Part First, Roberts Brothers, Boston, 1868 (Part First offered for sale in early October 1868, about 2,000 copies)
• The key BAL point is the state of the terminal (rear) advertisements: the genuine first issue has the earliest catalogue state with the title listed at its original lower price, before the publisher raised the price for later printings
• Half-title present; illustrations by May Alcott; earliest binding in green, purple, or terracotta cloth

How Roberts Brothers marked a first edition

• No printed first-edition statement: identify by date agreement (title-page year matching the copyright year) and the absence of any reprint notice.
• Many titles were issued in numbered 'thousands' — a 'Twentieth Thousand' or similar count on the title page indicates a later printing; first printings carry no such count.

Full Roberts Brothers 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 US 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?

US true first, 1868 (Part First). Part Second (the volume later known as 'Good Wives') appeared in 1869; a complete first set requires both with first-issue advertisement states. First-issue versus later-issue priority is determined by the rear-advertisement catalogue and binding states per BAL.P-020148

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Combined later editions and reprints postdate; the genuine first is the 1868 Part First (with the 1869 Part Second) Roberts Brothers issue with first-state rear ads and May Alcott plates.P-020149

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Little Women; or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy a first edition?

A first edition of Little Women; or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott (Roberts Brothers) is identified by: First edition, first issue of Part First, Roberts Brothers, Boston, 1868 (Part First offered for sale in early October 1868, about 2,000 copies).

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. US true first, 1868 (Part First).

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

Combined later editions and reprints postdate; the genuine first is the 1868 Part First (with the 1869 Part Second) Roberts Brothers issue with first-state rear ads and May Alcott plates.

I have a first edition of Little Women; or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy — 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.