# Is "Our Nig; or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black" by Harriet E. Wilson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Our Nig; or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black by Harriet E. Wilson (George C. Rand and Avery, 1859) is identified by: The first edition's title page reads 'Our Nig; or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black, in a Two-Story White House, North.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first edition's title page reads 'Our Nig; or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black, in a Two-Story White House, North
- Showing that Slavery's Shadows Fall Even There.' Wilson copyrighted the book in her own name on August 18, 1859, and the title page states only that it was 'printed' — not 'published' — by George C. Rand and Avery of Boston, indicating that the author financed the printing herself; the book is recorded as having reached print on September 5, 1859
- The first edition collates 140 pages in a small format (20 cm) and was issued without the author's name, credited only to 'Our Nig.'
- Publisher imprint reads George C. Rand and Avery
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Harriet E. Wilson |
| Publisher | George C. Rand and Avery |
| Year | 1859 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first edition's title page reads 'Our Nig; or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black, in a Two-Story White House, North |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The first edition's title page reads 'Our Nig; or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black, in a Two-Story White House, North. Showing that Slavery's Shadows Fall Even There.' Wilson copyrighted the book in her own name on August 18, 1859, and the title page states only that it was 'printed' — not 'published' — by George C. Rand and Avery of Boston, indicating that the author financed the printing herself; the book is recorded as having reached print on September 5, 1859. The first edition collates 140 pages in a small format (20 cm) and was issued without the author's name, credited only to 'Our Nig.'

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The original 1859 run was small and commercially unsuccessful, so virtually every copy encountered today is a 20th-century reprint following the book's rediscovery and its reattribution to Wilson by Henry Louis Gates Jr., published as a scholarly Vintage/Random House edition in 1983; a genuine George C. Rand and Avery printing dated 1859 is required for the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Our Nig; or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black* by Harriet E. Wilson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/our-nig-or-sketches-from-the-life-of-a-free-black
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.