Is My Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, published anonymously in three volumes, octavo, in an edition of only 500 copies (of which roughly 300 sold), bound in blue moiré fine-ribbed cloth with blind-ruled borders and gilt titles to the spine (Carter's binding variant A)
• No half-titles are called for, matching Sadleir's collation
• The earliest state carries a 16-page publisher's advertisement catalogue dated March 1869 at the rear of volume three; later states of the ads point to a reprint
• Cited as Sadleir 227 and Wolff 536

How Sampson Low, Son, & Marston marked a first edition

• No printed edition statement on 19th-century firsts: use title-page date plus absence of any later-printing notice, and read the exact partnership style in the imprint (the firm's name changed repeatedly, which helps dat…
• Dated inserted advertisements or catalogue, usually at the rear; a first should not advertise later books.

Full Sampson Low, Son, & Marston 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. 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 1869 three-volume London edition is the true first; the book failed commercially in that format and was reissued in a hugely popular one-volume edition in 1870, which is a later, cheaper printing, not the first.P-034954

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The scarce three-volume set of 1869 is the target; the 1870 one-volume edition (and the many illustrated/cheap reprints that followed in the 1870s-the printed price) are later and far more common, lacking the moiré cloth and triple-decker format entirely.P-034955

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor a first edition?

A first edition of Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor by R. D. Blackmore (Sampson Low, Son, & Marston) is identified by: First edition, published anonymously in three volumes, octavo, in an edition of only 500 copies (of which roughly 300 sold), bound in blue moiré fine-ribbed cloth with blind-ruled borders and gilt titles to the spine (Carter's binding variant A).

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 1869 three-volume London edition is the true first; the book failed commercially in that format and was reissued in a hugely popular one-volume edition in 1870, which is a later, cheaper printing, not the first.

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

The scarce three-volume set of 1869 is the target; the 1870 one-volume edition (and the many illustrated/cheap reprints that followed in the 1870s-the printed price) are later and far more common, lacking the moiré cloth and triple-decker format entirely.

I have a first edition of Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor — 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.