# Is "Plain Tales from the Hills" by Rudyard Kipling a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Plain Tales from the Hills by Rudyard Kipling (Thacker, Spink and Co., 1888) is identified by: First edition printed and published in Calcutta, 1888 — Kipling's first prose collection. The Calcutta Thacker, Spink 1888 issue is the true first, to be distinguished from the 1890 Macmillan (London) edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition printed and published in Calcutta, 1888 — Kipling's first prose collection
- Imprint reads 'Thacker, Spink and Co.' (Calcutta) on the title page, with W. Thacker & Co. as the London agent
- Collation pp. xii, 283, with a 32-page publisher's catalogue dated December 1887 at the rear
- A noted first-issue point is the page number on page 192 printed at the inner edge of the top margin
- Issued in olive/grey-brown cloth
- Publisher imprint reads Thacker, Spink and Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rudyard Kipling |
| Publisher | Thacker, Spink and Co. |
| Year | 1888 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition printed and published in Calcutta, 1888 — Kipling's first prose collection |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition printed and published in Calcutta, 1888 — Kipling's first prose collection. Imprint reads 'Thacker, Spink and Co.' (Calcutta) on the title page, with W. Thacker & Co. as the London agent. Collation pp. xii, 283, with a 32-page publisher's catalogue dated December 1887 at the rear. A noted first-issue point is the page number on page 192 printed at the inner edge of the top margin. Issued in olive/grey-brown cloth.

## Is this the true first?
The Calcutta Thacker, Spink 1888 issue is the true first, to be distinguished from the 1890 Macmillan (London) edition. The 32-page December 1887 catalogue and the page-192 page-number placement are the practical bibliographic points.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The 1890 London Macmillan edition and all later reprints are not the Calcutta first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Plain Tales from the Hills* by Rudyard Kipling a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/plain-tales-from-the-hills
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.