Is My Copy of Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, New York: D. Appleton and Company, published in May 1875 in two octavo volumes of 405 and 409pp (814pp in all), each with publisher's advertisements at the rear
• First-printing sets were bound in blue cloth with the title stamped in gilt on the front cover and spine
• Volume II includes a large folding map of Sherman's 1863-65 campaign marches, carried in a pocket attached to the inside rear board -- a fragile map, often torn or missing from surviving sets, that should be present and complete in a genuine first-edition set

How D. Appleton and Company marked a first edition

• Numerical identification in parentheses/brackets at the FOOT OF THE LAST PAGE of text: '(1)' = first printing, '(2)' = second, etc.
• May occasionally have used a 'First Edition' statement instead of the foot-of-last-page number.

Full D. Appleton and Company 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.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Appleton issued a "Second Edition, revised and corrected" in 1886 that replaces the first two chapters with a new preface, adds a new opening chapter on Sherman's life before 1846 and a new closing chapter on his postwar career, appends letters and a "Personal Traits" sketch of Sherman by James G. Blaine, and makes roughly fifty changes to the original text; copies with this expanded content and the 1886 date are not the 1875 first edition.P-035849

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman a first edition?

A first edition of Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman by William Tecumseh Sherman (D. Appleton and Company) is identified by: First edition, New York: D. Appleton and Company, published in May 1875 in two octavo volumes of 405 and 409pp (814pp in all), each with publisher's advertisements at the rear.

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.

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

Appleton issued a "Second Edition, revised and corrected" in 1886 that replaces the first two chapters with a new preface, adds a new opening chapter on Sherman's life before 1846 and a new closing chapter on his postwar career, appends letters and a "Personal Traits" sketch of Sherman by James G. Blaine, and makes roughly fifty changes to the original text; copies with this expanded content and the 1886 date are not the 1875 first edition.

I have a first edition of Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman — 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.