Is My Science and Health a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition of 1,000 copies, dated 1875, with the author credited on the title page as "Mary Baker Glover" — her name before her 1877 marriage to Asa Gilbert Eddy — not "Mary Baker Eddy." The text collates to 456 pages across eight chapters (Natural Science, Imposition and Demonstration, Spirit and Matter, Creation, Prayer and Atonement, Marriage, Physiology, and Healing the Sick), bound in black patterned cloth with the title stamped in gilt on the spine
• Because the printer introduced numerous errors while trying to "correct" the author's wording, first-edition copies carry a separately printed errata leaf tipped in at the rear
• The subtitle "with Key to the Scriptures" does not appear on the 1875 title page at all — it was only added starting with the 1883 edition

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.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Eddy substantially rewrote and reorganized the book through dozens of further editions up to her death in 1910; any copy naming the author "Mary Baker Eddy" rather than "Mary Baker Glover," or carrying the now-familiar subtitle "with Key to the Scriptures" on the title page, is one of these later revised printings, not the 456-page 1875 original.P-036237

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Science and Health a first edition?

A first edition of Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy (credited as Mary Baker Glover) (Christian Scientist Publishing Company) is identified by: First edition of 1,000 copies, dated 1875, with the author credited on the title page as "Mary Baker Glover" — her name before her 1877 marriage to Asa Gilbert Eddy — not "Mary Baker Eddy." The text collates to 456 pages across eight chapters (Natural Science, Imposition and Demonstration, Spirit and Matter, Creation, Prayer and Atonement, Marriage, Physiology, and Healing the Sick), bound in black patterned cloth with the title stamped in gilt on…

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.

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

Eddy substantially rewrote and reorganized the book through dozens of further editions up to her death in 1910; any copy naming the author "Mary Baker Eddy" rather than "Mary Baker Glover," or carrying the now-familiar subtitle "with Key to the Scriptures" on the title page, is one of these later revised printings, not the 456-page 1875 original.

I have a first edition of Science and Health — 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.