# Is "Mosses from an Old Manse" by Nathaniel Hawthorne a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Mosses from an Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Wiley and Putnam, 1846) is identified by: First edition, published June 5, 1846, as numbers 17-18 of Wiley and Putnam's 'Library of American Books,' issued in two states -- cloth (two volumes bound as one) and paper wrappers (two separate volumes).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, published June 5, 1846, as numbers 17-18 of Wiley and Putnam's 'Library of American Books,' issued in two states -- cloth (two volumes bound as one) and paper wrappers (two separate volumes)
- The true first printing, per Clark's descriptive bibliography, exhibits every recorded first-state point in first binding state A, including matched Wiley & Putnam advertisement leaves listing eighteen titles ending with Mosses itself
- Volume one runs from 'The Old Manse' through 'The Procession of Life'; volume two from 'The New Adam and Eve' through 'A Virtuoso's Collection.' This was Hawthorne's first commercially successful book, going through roughly five further printings by 1852
- Publisher imprint reads Wiley and Putnam
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Nathaniel Hawthorne |
| Publisher | Wiley and Putnam |
| Year | 1846 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, published June 5, 1846, as numbers 17-18 of Wiley and Putnam's 'Library of American Books,' issued in two states -- cloth… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, published June 5, 1846, as numbers 17-18 of Wiley and Putnam's 'Library of American Books,' issued in two states -- cloth (two volumes bound as one) and paper wrappers (two separate volumes). The true first printing, per Clark's descriptive bibliography, exhibits every recorded first-state point in first binding state A, including matched Wiley & Putnam advertisement leaves listing eighteen titles ending with Mosses itself. Volume one runs from 'The Old Manse' through 'The Procession of Life'; volume two from 'The New Adam and Eve' through 'A Virtuoso's Collection.' This was Hawthorne's first commercially successful book, going through roughly five further printings by 1852.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The revised and expanded 1854 Ticknor, Reed & Fields edition adds further tales and resets the text entirely; it should not be mistaken for the original two-part 1846 Wiley and Putnam first edition, which is identifiable by its Library of American Books numbering and matched advertisement leaves.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Mosses from an Old Manse* by Nathaniel Hawthorne a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/mosses-from-an-old-manse
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.