Is My Poems: Third Series a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Third and final nineteenth-century posthumous gathering, edited by Mabel Loomis Todd, printed in an edition of 1,000 copies
• The first printing, dated April 1896, is distinguished from a second printing issued the same year in September 1896; reference works cite Myerson A4.1a and BAL 4661 for the first printing
• Binding variants exist with no firm priority established: publisher's gray-green cloth over beveled boards stamped in gilt with a ghost-flower ("Indian pipes") motif, top edge gilt, wove-paper text leaves with laid-paper flyleaves, and a white ribbon page-marker bound in

How Roberts Brothers marked a first edition

• No printed first-edition statement: identify by date agreement (title-page year matching the copyright year) and the absence of any reprint notice.
• Many titles were issued in numbered 'thousands' — a 'Twentieth Thousand' or similar count on the title page indicates a later printing; first printings carry no such count.

Full Roberts Brothers 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. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
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.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Because a second printing followed within the same calendar year, a "1896" title-page date alone does not guarantee the first printing; the April-versus-September points (and the presence of the bound-in ribbon marker) should be checked against a Dickinson bibliography such as Myerson.P-035322

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Poems: Third Series a first edition?

A first edition of Poems: Third Series by Emily Dickinson (Roberts Brothers) is identified by: Third and final nineteenth-century posthumous gathering, edited by Mabel Loomis Todd, printed in an edition of 1,000 copies.

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

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key.

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

Because a second printing followed within the same calendar year, a "1896" title-page date alone does not guarantee the first printing; the April-versus-September points (and the presence of the bound-in ribbon marker) should be checked against a Dickinson bibliography such as Myerson.

I have a first edition of Poems: Third Series — 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.