Is My Robert's Rules of Order (Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first: Chicago, S. C. Griggs and Company, 1876 — original title 'Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies' (cover short-title 'Robert's Rules of Order'), issued February 1876 in a self-financed printing of 4,000 copies
• Decisive sourced collation: 176 numbered pages, containing only Part I and Part II, with the Table of Rules placed at the BACK; the revised second edition (July 1876) is enlarged to 192 pp, adds 'Part III: Miscellaneous,' and moves the Table of Rules to the front
• Corroborated by Wikipedia and The First Edition Rare Books / RobertsRules.org
• NOTE: fine first-printing states WITHIN the 1876 first edition are not consistently documented in available dealer or bibliographic sources; the reliable, sourced test is the 176-pp / two-part / Table-of-Rules-at-rear collation that separates the first edition from the July 1876 second edition

How S. C. Griggs & Company marked a first edition

• c.1848–1872: Chicago bookseller-publisher; first editions carry the 'S.C. Griggs & Co., Chicago' imprint with a dated title page. No first-edition statement and no number line — identify by imprint form and the absence o…
• Note the lineage: after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 Griggs sold out and the firm became Jansen, McClurg & Co. in 1872, which in turn became A.C. McClurg & Co. in 1886. The imprint name on the title page is the dating…

Full S. C. Griggs & Company 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. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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?

US first (Griggs, Chicago, 1876) is the true first; no foreign precedence. Because Robert revised almost immediately, the principal traps are the July 1876 second edition (192 pp, adds Part III) and the later heavily revised editions (3rd, 1893; 4th, 1915, 'completely reworked and 75% enlarged'), all of which are 'first thus' at best.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue at first appearance; countless modern reprints and public-domain reissues of the 1876 text exist and are not the first edition. Any copy paginated to 192 pp or containing 'Part III: Miscellaneous' is not the first edition.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Robert's Rules of Order (Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies) a first edition?

A first edition of Robert's Rules of Order (Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies) by Henry M. Robert (S. C. Griggs & Company) is identified by: True first: Chicago, S.

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. US first (Griggs, Chicago, 1876) is the true first; no foreign precedence.

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

No book-club issue at first appearance; countless modern reprints and public-domain reissues of the 1876 text exist and are not the first edition. Any copy paginated to 192 pp or containing 'Part III: Miscellaneous' is not the first edition.

I have a first edition of Robert's Rules of Order (Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies) — 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.