Is My Moll Flanders (The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition: "The Fortunes and Misfortunes Of the Famous Moll Flanders, &c.," published anonymously, London, "Printed for, and Sold by W. Chetwood, at Cato's-Head, in Russel-Street, Covent-Garden; and T. Edling, at the Prince's-Arms over-against Exerter-Change in the Strand"; octavo; signatures A-2D8 2E4, with the blank leaf A8 almost always discarded in rebinding (ESTC T70314
• Moore 446
• Furbank & Owens 213
• Rothschild 777
• Sabin 19278)
• The decisive point runs opposite to intuition: the first edition's title page is dated 1721, not 1722, and the Roman numeral is itself garbled — set as "MDDCXXI" — while the book was actually published on 27 January 1722; the volumes reading 1722 on the title page are the second and third editions

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. 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. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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 census entry needs correcting on the year. The true first is the London edition printed for W. Chetwood and T. Edling with a title page dated 1721, issued 27 January 1722; describing the first simply as "the 1722" inverts the real test, because a 1722 date printed on the title page marks a later edition, not the first. Note also that the imprint spells the second bookseller "T. Edling," whereas the man is recorded as Thomas Edlin. There is no UK/US or original-language precedence issue — Defoe wrote in English and London holds the first. Two further editions followed within 1722, and Dublin and continental reprints follow after; all are later editions at best.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition of the 1721/22 octavo exists. Moll Flanders is among the most heavily reprinted English novels, so donor copies are overwhelmingly modern: Modern Library, Penguin, Oxford World's Classics, Norton Critical (ed. Albert J. Rivero), Broadview, Bantam, Dover, and print-on-demand facsimiles struck from ECCO scans. Twentieth-century illustrated editions and the many collected "Novels of Daniel Defoe" sets are reprints; any copy with an ISBN or barcode is not the first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Moll Flanders (The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders) a first edition?

A first edition of Moll Flanders (The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders) by Daniel Defoe (W. Chetwood and T. Edling, London) is identified by: First edition: "The Fortunes and Misfortunes Of the Famous Moll Flanders, &c.," published anonymously, London, "Printed for, and Sold by W.

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 census entry needs correcting on the year.

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

No book-club edition of the 1721/22 octavo exists. Moll Flanders is among the most heavily reprinted English novels, so donor copies are overwhelmingly modern: Modern Library, Penguin, Oxford World's Classics, Norton Critical (ed. Albert J. Rivero), Broadview, Bantam, Dover, and print-on-demand facsimiles struck from ECCO scans. Twentieth-century illustrated editions and the many collected "Novels of Daniel Defoe" sets are reprints; any copy with an ISBN or barcode is not the first.

I have a first edition of Moll Flanders (The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders) — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

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.