# Is "Poems: Second Series" by Emily Dickinson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Poems: Second Series by Emily Dickinson (Roberts Brothers, 1891) is identified by: Second of three nineteenth-century posthumous Dickinson volumes issued by Roberts Brothers, following Poems (1890) and preceding Poems: Third Series (1896); this Second Series was edited by Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd, printed in an edition of 960 copies, and contains 166 poems, including a preliminary facsimile reproduction of the manuscript poem "Renunciation." Two bindings are recognized for the first printing with no priority established between them: one in olive decorated cloth, the other a two-tone cloth.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Second of three nineteenth-century posthumous Dickinson volumes issued by Roberts Brothers, following Poems
- and preceding Poems: Third Series
- this Second Series was edited by Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd, printed in an edition of 960 copies, and contains 166 poems, including a preliminary facsimile reproduction of the manuscript poem "Renunciation." Two bindings are recognized for the first printing with no priority established between them: one in olive decorated cloth, the other a two-tone cloth
- The more fully described binding, cited in bibliographies as Myerson A2.1.b and BAL 4656, is medium smooth olive V-cloth with beveled edges, gilt titling and decoration on spine and front cover, and top edge gilt
- Publisher imprint reads Roberts Brothers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Emily Dickinson |
| Publisher | Roberts Brothers |
| Year | 1891 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Second of three nineteenth-century posthumous Dickinson volumes issued by Roberts Brothers, following Poems |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Second of three nineteenth-century posthumous Dickinson volumes issued by Roberts Brothers, following Poems (1890) and preceding Poems: Third Series (1896); this Second Series was edited by Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd, printed in an edition of 960 copies, and contains 166 poems, including a preliminary facsimile reproduction of the manuscript poem "Renunciation." Two bindings are recognized for the first printing with no priority established between them: one in olive decorated cloth, the other a two-tone cloth. The more fully described binding, cited in bibliographies as Myerson A2.1.b and BAL 4656, is medium smooth olive V-cloth with beveled edges, gilt titling and decoration on spine and front cover, and top edge gilt.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The first printing sold out almost immediately and Roberts Brothers issued further printings; a second-printing copy can be identified by text leaves on laid paper with horizontal chain marks and by a title page dated "Roberts Brothers 1892" rather than 1891, and the second impression also silently corrects six textual errors present in the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Poems: Second Series* by Emily Dickinson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/poems-second-series
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.