# Is "Robert Elsmere" by Mrs. Humphry Ward (Mary Augusta Ward) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Robert Elsmere by Mrs. Humphry Ward (Mary Augusta Ward) (Smith, Elder & Co., 1888) is identified by: First edition, in the standard Victorian three-volume ("three-decker") format, octavo, collating approximately (xii)+370-371, (vi)+374 plus advertisement leaves, (viii)+411 pp. The three-volume Smith, Elder London edition of April 1888 is the true first edition; Macmillan & Co.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, in the standard Victorian three-volume ("three-decker") format, octavo, collating approximately (xii)+370-371, (vi)+374 plus advertisement leaves, (viii)+411 pp
- Bound in blue cloth with gilt-titled spines and black-stamped titles on the front boards; floral-patterned endpapers in volumes I and II, with a distinct chocolate-brown endpaper in volume III. The three-volume format was a period convention driven by the circulating-library trade and had largely disappeared by the mid-1890s
- Publisher imprint reads Smith, Elder & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mrs. Humphry Ward (Mary Augusta Ward) |
| Publisher | Smith, Elder & Co. |
| Year | 1888 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, in the standard Victorian three-volume ("three-decker") format, octavo, collating approximately (xii)+370-371, (vi)+374 plus… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, in the standard Victorian three-volume ("three-decker") format, octavo, collating approximately (xii)+370-371, (vi)+374 plus advertisement leaves, (viii)+411 pp. Bound in blue cloth with gilt-titled spines and black-stamped titles on the front boards; floral-patterned endpapers in volumes I and II, with a distinct chocolate-brown endpaper in volume III. The three-volume format was a period convention driven by the circulating-library trade and had largely disappeared by the mid-1890s.

## Is this the true first?
The three-volume Smith, Elder London edition of April 1888 is the true first edition; Macmillan & Co. issued the first American edition the same year. The novel's popularity was such that some 19 further editions and formats (both three-decker and single-volume) had appeared before the end of 1888.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The many single-volume editions that followed within 1888 and afterward are later, cheaper resettings aimed at a wider readership, not the three-decker true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Robert Elsmere* by Mrs. Humphry Ward (Mary Augusta Ward) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/robert-elsmere
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.