# Is "Redgauntlet: A Tale of the Eighteenth Century" by Walter Scott a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Redgauntlet: A Tale of the Eighteenth Century by Walter Scott (Archibald Constable and Co., 1824) is identified by: First edition (Todd & Bowden 178Aa), three volumes (319, 328, 331 pages plus advertisements), issued 14 June 1824, each volume retaining its own title page and fly-title, published anonymously as 'by the author of Waverley.' Two leaves (four pages) of publisher's advertisements appear at the rear of volume III.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition (Todd & Bowden 178Aa), three volumes (319, 328, 331 pages plus advertisements), issued 14 June 1824, each volume retaining its own title page and fly-title, published anonymously as 'by the author of Waverley.' Two leaves (four pages) of publisher's advertisements appear at the rear of volume III. Original issue was in printed boards backed in brown paper with printed paper spine labels and untrimmed edges; sets surviving in this original state are considerably scarcer than rebound copies
- Todd & Bowden also record a title-page variant: some copies show a comma after the main title on volume I where volumes II and III have a full stop; most first-edition sets show the corrected full-stop form, and no collecting priority is assigned between the two states
- Publisher imprint reads Archibald Constable and Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Walter Scott |
| Publisher | Archibald Constable and Co. |
| Year | 1824 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition (Todd & Bowden 178Aa), three volumes (319, 328, 331 pages plus advertisements), issued 14 June 1824, each volume retaining… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition (Todd & Bowden 178Aa), three volumes (319, 328, 331 pages plus advertisements), issued 14 June 1824, each volume retaining its own title page and fly-title, published anonymously as 'by the author of Waverley.' Two leaves (four pages) of publisher's advertisements appear at the rear of volume III. Original issue was in printed boards backed in brown paper with printed paper spine labels and untrimmed edges; sets surviving in this original state are considerably scarcer than rebound copies. Todd & Bowden also record a title-page variant: some copies show a comma after the main title on volume I where volumes II and III have a full stop; most first-edition sets show the corrected full-stop form, and no collecting priority is assigned between the two states.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Redgauntlet: A Tale of the Eighteenth Century* by Walter Scott a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/redgauntlet-a-tale-of-the-eighteenth-century
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.