# Is "On Liberty" by John Stuart Mill a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of On Liberty by John Stuart Mill (John W. Parker and Son, 1859) is identified by: First edition, London: John W.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, London: John W. Parker and Son, 1859, collating [5], 6-207, [1], [4]pp, 8vo, including four pages of smaller-format publisher's advertisements tipped in at the end
- Bound in the publisher's original purple cloth with blind-stamped borders, spine lettered in gilt, and red-brown endpapers
- Every copy of this printing carries, on the leaf following the title page, Mill's dedication to his late wife, Harriet Taylor Mill, who had died the previous year
- Publisher imprint reads John W. Parker and Son
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Stuart Mill |
| Publisher | John W. Parker and Son |
| Year | 1859 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, London: John W. Parker and Son, 1859, collating [5], 6-207, [1], [4]pp, 8vo, including four pages of smaller-format… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, London: John W. Parker and Son, 1859, collating [5], 6-207, [1], [4]pp, 8vo, including four pages of smaller-format publisher's advertisements tipped in at the end. Bound in the publisher's original purple cloth with blind-stamped borders, spine lettered in gilt, and red-brown endpapers. Every copy of this printing carries, on the leaf following the title page, Mill's dedication to his late wife, Harriet Taylor Mill, who had died the previous year.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *On Liberty* by John Stuart Mill a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/on-liberty
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.