Is My Progress and Poverty a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first edition is the "Author's Edition," printed at George's own expense in San Francisco by Wm
• M. Hinton & Co. in a run of 200 copies, since no commercial publisher would initially take the book
• Most copies are bound in blue cloth (a purple-cloth variant is also recorded), spine lettered in gilt and decoratively stamped in blind, with pale pink endpapers; the half title is often trimmed away by later rebinders
• Some copies include a rare inserted leaf asking the recipient not to publish a review notice, since George anticipated hostile reception, and variant spine states exist with and without "Author's Edition" at the foot of the spine
• The first commercial trade edition followed in 1880 from D. Appleton & Co., New York, with 1880 on the title page, blind-stamped brown cloth, a half title, and eight pages of publisher's advertisements at the rear, printed from Hinton's original plates

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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.

Is this the true first?

The 1879 San Francisco "Author's Edition" (200 copies) has priority over the 1880 D. Appleton & Co. trade edition that introduced the book commercially; both are legitimately called first editions of their respective issue, with the Author's Edition being the true first.P-036135

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Appleton kept the book in print for decades with updated title-page imprints and period printing statements; 20th-century reprints by the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation and other publishers are plainly dated and unrelated to the 19th-century originals.P-036136

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Progress and Poverty a first edition?

A first edition of Progress and Poverty by Henry George (Wm. M. Hinton & Co., Printers) is identified by: The true first edition is the "Author's Edition," printed at George's own expense in San Francisco by Wm.

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. The 1879 San Francisco "Author's Edition" (200 copies) has priority over the 1880 D.

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

Appleton kept the book in print for decades with updated title-page imprints and period printing statements; 20th-century reprints by the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation and other publishers are plainly dated and unrelated to the 19th-century originals.

I have a first edition of Progress and Poverty — 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.