Is My Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition in book form, published by Bradbury and Evans in 1853, following prior issue in thirteen numbered parts delivered as twelve monthly installments (parts 7 and 8 combined) from January to December 1852
• First-state points include the dedication reading 'Lord Elcho' (corrected to 'Earl Elcho' in the later state), a woodcut appearing on page 230 in the corrected state versus page 229 in the earlier state, and advertisements printed in red ink in the earliest state
• Illustrated with thirteen hand-colored steel-engraved plates and numerous wood engravings by John Leech; original binding is brown cloth with gilt lettering and decoration to the spine and front board

How Bradbury and Evans marked a first edition

• Originally printers who became publishers: 19th-century firsts carry no edition statement — use title-page date, absence of any later-printing notice, and correct imprint.
• For Dickens novels issued in monthly parts, the true 'first' is the original part-issue (paper wrappers, with the correct inserted advertisements/'Dickens advertiser' and plates in the right states) — the bound first edi…

Full Bradbury and Evans 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.

Is this the true first?

The original thirteen-number parts issue (delivered in twelve monthly installments, January-December 1852) preceded the single-volume 1853 book edition.P-034948

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Bradbury and Evans continued under that name through the 1850s; the printing partnership was not renamed Bradbury, Agnew & Co. until 1872. Later printings bearing that successor imprint, rather than 'Bradbury and Evans,' therefore postdate the 1853 first by at least two decades.P-034949

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour a first edition?

A first edition of Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour by Robert Smith Surtees (Bradbury and Evans) is identified by: First edition in book form, published by Bradbury and Evans in 1853, following prior issue in thirteen numbered parts delivered as twelve monthly installments (parts 7 and 8 combined) from January to December 1852.

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 original thirteen-number parts issue (delivered in twelve monthly installments, January-December 1852) preceded the single-volume 1853 book edition.

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

Bradbury and Evans continued under that name through the 1850s; the printing partnership was not renamed Bradbury, Agnew & Co. until 1872. Later printings bearing that successor imprint, rather than 'Bradbury and Evans,' therefore postdate the 1853 first by at least two decades.

I have a first edition of Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour — 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.