Is My Copy of New Grub Street a First Edition?

The points of issue

• London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1891 — first edition, the three-decker, in a small printing reported at 500 copies (one ABAA description gives 500–750)
• Three volumes, octavo, collating [vi], 305, [1], [2, ads]; [vi], 316; [vi], 335, [1] pp., with half-titles present in all three volumes and publisher's advertisements at the rear of volume one
• Bound in the original blue-green crackle-grain cloth stamped in black; a second ABAA description of the same edition calls the cloth green and records gilt as well as black stamping, so allow for that variance in wording
• The three-decker was issued without dust jackets, so no jacket point exists for this book
• Standard references are Coustillas A9a
• Collie IXa

How Smith, Elder & Co. marked a first edition

• No explicit edition statement in the Victorian era: first printings are identified by the date on the title page and by the ABSENCE of any 'second edition' / 'new edition' wording on the title page or half-title.
• Publisher's catalogue or advertisements bound in (usually at the rear, sometimes the front): on a true first the inserted ads are dated at or before the title-page year; later catalogue dates indicate a later printing…

Full Smith, Elder & Co. 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. 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 Smith, Elder London three-decker of 1891 is the true first, and precedence is not contested: no American edition of 1891 is recorded in any source consulted. The common statement that 'early US editions are later and abridged' needs qualifying on both counts. The American edition came much later — one source reports the first American issue appearing only after Gissing's death in December 1903, a date that could not be corroborated against a second independent source. And the abridgement is Gissing's own: he revised and shortened the novel for a French edition of 1901, dropping passages of autobiographical reminiscence, and could not find an English publisher willing to issue the revised version. Later one-volume reprints, including Eveleigh Nash & Grayson (London, 1927), carry a shortened text and are 'first thus' at best.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Three-deckers of 1891 went overwhelmingly to the circulating libraries, so surviving copies are frequently ex-Mudie's or otherwise ex-library and rebound; original cloth in three volumes with half-titles intact is the thing actually being identified, and New Grub Street was the first of Gissing's books to reach a second impression, so a stated later impression is a real possibility. One-volume reprints and modern critical editions (Penguin, Oxford World's Classics, Broadview) separate by imprint. No book-club tells were documented in the sources consulted.P-039706

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of New Grub Street a first edition?

A first edition of New Grub Street by George Gissing (Smith, Elder & Co.) is identified by: London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1891 — first edition, the three-decker, in a small printing reported at 500 copies (one ABAA description gives 500–750).

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 Smith, Elder London three-decker of 1891 is the true first, and precedence is not contested: no American edition of 1891 is recorded in any source consulted.

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

Three-deckers of 1891 went overwhelmingly to the circulating libraries, so surviving copies are frequently ex-Mudie's or otherwise ex-library and rebound; original cloth in three volumes with half-titles intact is the thing actually being identified, and New Grub Street was the first of Gissing's books to reach a second impression, so a stated later impression is a real possibility.

I have a first edition of New Grub Street — 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.