Is My On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation a First Edition?

The points of issue

• London: John Murray, Albemarle-Street, 1817
• Octavo (approx
• 209 x 124-128 mm), collating viii, 589, [14] pp.; the terminal unnumbered leaves carry the index, with publisher's advertisements bound in at the end in some copies only
• 750 copies were printed; publication date 19 April 1817
• Identification is by the title page: the first edition carries no edition statement, whereas the second (Murray, 27 February 1819, 1,000 copies) and third (Murray, May 1821, 1,000 copies) are so designated — the second contained only trifling alterations, the third considerably more extensive ones
• Expected dress is contemporary or later calf or half calf with a gilt-panelled spine and a morocco label; no number line, printed price or dust jacket applies to the period

How John Murray, London marked a first edition

• No formal edition statement on most 19th-century Murray firsts: identify by the title-page date with no 'New Edition' / 'Second Edition' / number-of-thousand line, the correct imprint ('John Murray, Albemarle Street'), a…

Full John Murray, London 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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
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?

No precedence question: Ricardo wrote in English and Murray's London octavo of 1817 is the true first; the French translation (Constancio, with Say's notes) and all continental versions are later. The census hypothesis that the first edition has 'first-issue points in the advertisements and errata' is NOT supported and must not be used. Bonhams's cataloguing states that copies come 'without publisher's advertisements at end as usual,' so presence or absence of the terminal ads is not a reliable point of issue, and no errata leaf is described in any of the catalogue records examined. Identification rests on the 1817 date, the Murray Albemarle-Street imprint, the absence of an edition statement, and the viii, 589, [14] collation.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue exists for an 1817 imprint. The traps are the 1819 second and 1821 third editions, both labelled on the title page and both from Murray, and the modern scholarly and reprint editions — Sraffa's Cambridge text (1951 and later), Everyman/Dent and Cambridge paperback printings, and print-on-demand facsimiles — all of which carry modern imprints, machine-made paper and, from the 1970s, ISBNs.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation a first edition?

A first edition of On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation by David Ricardo (John Murray, London) is identified by: London: John Murray, Albemarle-Street, 1817.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). No precedence question: Ricardo wrote in English and Murray's London octavo of 1817 is the true first; the French translation (Constancio, with Say's notes) and all continental versions are later.

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

No book-club issue exists for an 1817 imprint. The traps are the 1819 second and 1821 third editions, both labelled on the title page and both from Murray, and the modern scholarly and reprint editions — Sraffa's Cambridge text (1951 and later), Everyman/Dent and Cambridge paperback printings, and print-on-demand facsimiles — all of which carry modern imprints, machine-made paper and, from the 1970s, ISBNs.

I have a first edition of On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation — 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.