# Is "Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei (The Communist Manifesto)" by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei (The Communist Manifesto) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (Office der Bildungs-Gesellschaft für Arbeiter, printed by J. E. Burghard, London, 1848) is identified by: A 23-page pamphlet in dark green printed wrappers, issued anonymously — neither Marx nor Engels is named. The German original, London 1848, is the true first — the census claim is correct.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- A 23-page pamphlet in dark green printed wrappers, issued anonymously — neither Marx nor Engels is named
- The imprint reads "London
- Gedruckt in der Office der 'Bildungs-Gesellschaft für Arbeiter' von J. E. Burghard
- 46, Liverpool Street, Bishopsgate," and the heading is dated "Veröffentlicht im Februar 1848." The decisive test is extent: the February 1848 first printing sets the text in 23 pages, while the corrected printing of April–May 1848 resets it to 30 pages, repairing misprints and punctuation
- That 30-page setting became the basis for all later authorised German editions, so 23pp versus 30pp is the primary distinction
- The first printing is on poor-quality paper and was proofread only cursorily, leaving numerous misprints and accidentals
- Publisher imprint reads Office der Bildungs-Gesellschaft für Arbeiter, printed by J. E. Burghard, London

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels |
| Publisher | Office der Bildungs-Gesellschaft für Arbeiter, printed by J. E. Burghard, London |
| Year | 1848 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | A 23-page pamphlet in dark green printed wrappers, issued anonymously — neither Marx nor Engels is named |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
A 23-page pamphlet in dark green printed wrappers, issued anonymously — neither Marx nor Engels is named. The imprint reads "London. Gedruckt in der Office der 'Bildungs-Gesellschaft für Arbeiter' von J. E. Burghard. 46, Liverpool Street, Bishopsgate," and the heading is dated "Veröffentlicht im Februar 1848." The decisive test is extent: the February 1848 first printing sets the text in 23 pages, while the corrected printing of April–May 1848 resets it to 30 pages, repairing misprints and punctuation. That 30-page setting became the basis for all later authorised German editions, so 23pp versus 30pp is the primary distinction. The first printing is on poor-quality paper and was proofread only cursorily, leaving numerous misprints and accidentals. Copy-level states are NOT settled here: surviving copies show minor variants between them, and reachable sources conflict both on the size of the printing and on how many copies survive, so no state sequence is asserted.

## Is this the true first?
The German original, London 1848, is the true first — the census claim is correct. The first English translation is Helen Macfarlane's, serialised in George Julian Harney's The Red Republican (London, 1850); it is a periodical appearance, not a book. The first authorised English book is the Samuel Moore translation, edited and annotated by Engels: London, William Reeves, 185 Fleet Street, 1888 — Engels cites that exact imprint himself in his 1890 preface. The 1848 German pamphlet and the 1888 Reeves are both collected; name which one you mean.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The 1888 Reeves is the great trap. Reeves reused the 1888 stereotype plates for pages 3–31 across all his later English impressions, altering only the title page and terminal advertisement leaf — so "1888" remains printed on the title page of impressions issued for decades afterwards. Recorded examples include a "Fourth edition" bearing 1888 but probably printed in 1907, and a "Sixth Impression" bearing 1888 but dated 1927. Read the impression statement and the printed price statement on the wrapper, not the 1888 date. Modern reprints of the Moore translation are ubiquitous.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei (The Communist Manifesto)* by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/manifest-der-kommunistischen-partei-the-communist-manifesto
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.