Is My Copy of Madame Bovary a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Two volumes, Michel Lévy frères, Paris, 1857, issued in printed wrappers (green)
• The first-issue point is on the dedication leaf: Flaubert's defence counsel is misprinted "Senart" for "Sénard"; the later issue corrects the spelling
• Complete copies collate [iv], 232 and [iv], [233]-490, with half-titles and title pages to both volumes and the publisher's catalogue bound at the rear of volume I. Deluxe copies on heavy vellum paper are a separate format: they are in a single volume, without title page or half-title for the second part (Clouzot counts 75 such copies)

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. 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.
4. 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 French original is the true first. The novel was serialised in the Revue de Paris from 1 October to 15 December 1856, ahead of the Lévy book, but the serial is a periodical appearance and does not displace the 1857 two-volume first edition. The first edition in English is Eleanor Marx-Aveling's translation, Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners (London: Vizetelly & Co., 1886) — the first English translation to appear and the only one for many years; it is collected in its own right.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue in the period. The traps are "first thus": Lévy reissues with the dedication corrected to "Sénard"; the many later illustrated and "édition définitive" printings; and the 1886 Vizetelly translation catalogued as "first edition" when it is the first English, not the first. Modern reprints of the Marx-Aveling translation are everywhere.P-038291

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Madame Bovary a first edition?

A first edition of Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (Michel Lévy frères, Paris) is identified by: Two volumes, Michel Lévy frères, Paris, 1857, issued in printed wrappers (green).

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 French original is the true first.

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

No book-club issue in the period. The traps are "first thus": Lévy reissues with the dedication corrected to "Sénard"; the many later illustrated and "édition définitive" printings; and the 1886 Vizetelly translation catalogued as "first edition" when it is the first English, not the first. Modern reprints of the Marx-Aveling translation are everywhere.

I have a first edition of Madame Bovary — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.