# Is "Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor" by R. D. Blackmore a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor by R. D. Blackmore (Sampson Low, Son, & Marston, 1869) 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). 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.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Sampson Low, Son, & Marston
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | R. D. Blackmore |
| Publisher | Sampson Low, Son, & Marston |
| Year | 1869 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, published anonymously in three volumes, octavo, in an edition of only 500 copies (of which roughly 300 sold), bound in blue… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor* by R. D. Blackmore a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/lorna-doone-a-romance-of-exmoor
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.