Is My Reflections on the Revolution in France a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, London: printed for J. Dodsley, 1790
• Octavo (approx
• 210 x 128 mm), title with no edition statement — the immediate trap, since Dodsley's own rapid reprints of the same year also carry a plain 1790 title
• The primary first-impression point, given in Todd 53a and cited independently by two auction houses, is the imprint alignment: the "M" of the date stands directly beneath the "D" of "Dodsley"; in the second impression the "M" sits slightly to the right of that "D"
• Todd 53a further records the setting by press figures (10-x, 116 none, 171, 354-*) and by cancels at E2, F6 and H2-3 with cancellanda at B8 and E7-8
• References: Printing and the Mind of Man 239

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 Dodsley London edition of November 1790 is the true first in every sense — English is the original language and there is no competing prior edition. A Dublin edition of 1790 (Todd 53aa) followed and is a separate, later printing rather than a co-first. The work went through eleven editions within about a year, thirteen thousand copies selling in the first five weeks, so 1790-dated later impressions and editions are common and are the principal "first thus" trap: a plain 1790 title alone proves nothing without the imprint-alignment and press-figure checks.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club editions exist for an 18th-century pamphlet of this kind. The documented reprint tells are all within Dodsley's own 1790 sequence — resettings of the sheets, shifted press figures, and misprints introduced in the later impressions — plus the separate Dublin 1790 printing. Later 19th- and 20th-century collected-works and scholarly editions (and the modern paperback texts) are reprints of the text, not of the first edition sheets.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Reflections on the Revolution in France a first edition?

A first edition of Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (J. Dodsley, London) is identified by: First edition, London: printed for J.

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 Dodsley London edition of November 1790 is the true first in every sense — English is the original language and there is no competing prior edition.

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

No book-club editions exist for an 18th-century pamphlet of this kind. The documented reprint tells are all within Dodsley's own 1790 sequence — resettings of the sheets, shifted press figures, and misprints introduced in the later impressions — plus the separate Dublin 1790 printing. Later 19th- and 20th-century collected-works and scholarly editions (and the modern paperback texts) are reprints of the text, not of the first edition sheets.

I have a first edition of Reflections on the Revolution in France — 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.