# Is "Rodney Stone" by Arthur Conan Doyle a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Rodney Stone by Arthur Conan Doyle (Smith, Elder & Co., 1896) is identified by: First published by Smith, Elder & Co. The British Smith, Elder & Co.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published by Smith, Elder & Co. on 13 November 1896 in an edition of 20,000 copies, after serialization in the Strand Magazine (January-December 1896) with illustrations by Sidney Paget
- The first edition collates [8] preliminary leaves and 366 pages of text, with eight tissue-guarded plates by Paget, including the frontispiece, and a rear gathering of publisher's advertisements whose extent is recorded variously as ten to twelve pages across surviving copies
- The publisher's binding is black diamond-grain cloth, decoratively stamped and lettered in gilt on the front cover and spine, with dark brown coated endpapers
- Publisher imprint reads Smith, Elder & Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Arthur Conan Doyle |
| Publisher | Smith, Elder & Co. |
| Year | 1896 |
| True first | British edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published by Smith, Elder & Co. on 13 November 1896 in an edition of 20,000 copies, after serialization in the Strand Magazine… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First published by Smith, Elder & Co. on 13 November 1896 in an edition of 20,000 copies, after serialization in the Strand Magazine (January-December 1896) with illustrations by Sidney Paget. The first edition collates [8] preliminary leaves and 366 pages of text, with eight tissue-guarded plates by Paget, including the frontispiece, and a rear gathering of publisher's advertisements whose extent is recorded variously as ten to twelve pages across surviving copies. The publisher's binding is black diamond-grain cloth, decoratively stamped and lettered in gilt on the front cover and spine, with dark brown coated endpapers.

## Is this the true first?
The British Smith, Elder & Co. edition of 13 November 1896 precedes the D. Appleton & Co. American edition of 17 November 1896 by four days and is the true first; the Appleton edition carries more Paget illustrations than the eight in the British first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Rodney Stone* by Arthur Conan Doyle a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/rodney-stone
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.