# Is "Sartor Resartus" by Thomas Carlyle a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Sartor Resartus by Thomas Carlyle (James Munroe and Company, 1836) is identified by: The true first book publication is Boston: James Munroe and Company, 1836 -- 299pp, bound in brown cloth with a gilt spine title -- an edition Ralph Waldo Emerson arranged and helped underwrite through an advance subscription among friends, after the work had appeared only as a magazine serial in Fraser's Magazine (November 1833-August 1834). The Boston 1836 Munroe edition, arranged by Emerson, is the true first edition in book form, preceding the first authorized English book edition (Saunders and Otley, London, 1838) by two years; a privately printed 58-copy London reprint of the Fraser's Magazine setting exists from 1834 but was not a public trade publication.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first book publication is Boston: James Munroe and Company, 1836 -- 299pp, bound in brown cloth with a gilt spine title -- an edition Ralph Waldo Emerson arranged and helped underwrite through an advance subscription among friends, after the work had appeared only as a magazine serial in Fraser's Magazine (November 1833-August 1834)
- The first authorized English book edition followed as London: Saunders and Otley, 1838, collating xii, 310, [2]pp (the final leaf a publisher's advertisement), octavo, issued in original half cloth over paper-covered boards with a printed paper title label on the spine
- A separate edition of only fifty-eight copies was privately printed in London from the standing Fraser's Magazine type in 1834, titled "Reprinted for Friends" and circulated only among Carlyle's acquaintances, and is not treated as a trade first edition
- Publisher imprint reads James Munroe and Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Thomas Carlyle |
| Publisher | James Munroe and Company |
| Year | 1836 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first book publication is Boston: James Munroe and Company, 1836 -- 299pp, bound in brown cloth with a gilt spine title -- an… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The true first book publication is Boston: James Munroe and Company, 1836 -- 299pp, bound in brown cloth with a gilt spine title -- an edition Ralph Waldo Emerson arranged and helped underwrite through an advance subscription among friends, after the work had appeared only as a magazine serial in Fraser's Magazine (November 1833-August 1834). The first authorized English book edition followed as London: Saunders and Otley, 1838, collating xii, 310, [2]pp (the final leaf a publisher's advertisement), octavo, issued in original half cloth over paper-covered boards with a printed paper title label on the spine. A separate edition of only fifty-eight copies was privately printed in London from the standing Fraser's Magazine type in 1834, titled "Reprinted for Friends" and circulated only among Carlyle's acquaintances, and is not treated as a trade first edition.

## Is this the true first?
The Boston 1836 Munroe edition, arranged by Emerson, is the true first edition in book form, preceding the first authorized English book edition (Saunders and Otley, London, 1838) by two years; a privately printed 58-copy London reprint of the Fraser's Magazine setting exists from 1834 but was not a public trade publication.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Sartor Resartus* by Thomas Carlyle a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/sartor-resartus
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.