# Is "Men and Women" by Robert Browning a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Men and Women by Robert Browning (Chapman and Hall, 1855) is identified by: First edition in two volumes, octavo, collating iv, 260pp (volume I) and iv, 241, [1]pp (volume II), gathering fifty-one poems including "Fra Lippo Lippi," "Andrea del Sarto," and "Love Among the Ruins." Volume II carries two pages of publisher's advertisements at the end.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition in two volumes, octavo, collating iv, 260pp (volume I) and iv, 241, [1]pp (volume II), gathering fifty-one poems including "Fra Lippo Lippi," "Andrea del Sarto," and "Love Among the Ruins." Volume II carries two pages of publisher's advertisements at the end
- Bound in the publisher's original olive-green cloth stamped in blind, with gilt lettering and decoration on the spines; the title page imprint reads "Chapman and Hall, 193, Piccadilly."
- Publisher imprint reads Chapman and Hall
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Browning |
| Publisher | Chapman and Hall |
| Year | 1855 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | First edition in two volumes, octavo, collating iv, 260pp (volume I) and iv, 241, [1]pp (volume II), gathering fifty-one poems including… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition in two volumes, octavo, collating iv, 260pp (volume I) and iv, 241, [1]pp (volume II), gathering fifty-one poems including "Fra Lippo Lippi," "Andrea del Sarto," and "Love Among the Ruins." Volume II carries two pages of publisher's advertisements at the end. Bound in the publisher's original olive-green cloth stamped in blind, with gilt lettering and decoration on the spines; the title page imprint reads "Chapman and Hall, 193, Piccadilly."

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Men and Women was later absorbed into Browning's collected Poetical Works and its individual poems redistributed among other volumes during his lifetime; a two-volume set under this title with the Chapman and Hall imprint is required for the true first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Men and Women* by Robert Browning a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/men-and-women
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.