# Is "Sybil; or, The Two Nations" by Benjamin Disraeli a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Sybil; or, The Two Nations by Benjamin Disraeli (Henry Colburn, 1845) is identified by: First edition (Sadleir 726), three volumes octavo, pp.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition (Sadleir 726), three volumes octavo, pp. viii,315; [4],324; [2],326, published by Henry Colburn in 1845
- Half-titles are called for in volumes one and two; complete sets also carry a publisher's catalogue at the end of volume one and a further advertisement leaf in volume three, both frequently lacking and described by dealers as 'vanishingly scarce' when present
- Original binding is quarter-cloth: boards (recorded as grayish yellowish-brown) with a diaper-pattern cloth spine and printed paper spine label; sets retaining this original state are notably scarcer than rebound copies
- Publisher imprint reads Henry Colburn
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Benjamin Disraeli |
| Publisher | Henry Colburn |
| Year | 1845 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition (Sadleir 726), three volumes octavo, pp. viii,315; [4],324; [2],326, published by Henry Colburn in 1845 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition (Sadleir 726), three volumes octavo, pp. viii,315; [4],324; [2],326, published by Henry Colburn in 1845. Half-titles are called for in volumes one and two; complete sets also carry a publisher's catalogue at the end of volume one and a further advertisement leaf in volume three, both frequently lacking and described by dealers as 'vanishingly scarce' when present. Original binding is quarter-cloth: boards (recorded as grayish yellowish-brown) with a diaper-pattern cloth spine and printed paper spine label; sets retaining this original state are notably scarcer than rebound copies.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later single-volume reprints, such as David Bryce's 1853 'New Edition' (336 pp.) and Longmans' undated Modern Novelist's Library reprint of the 1880s, collapse the text into one volume, readily distinguished from the three-volume first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Sybil; or, The Two Nations* by Benjamin Disraeli a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/sybil-or-the-two-nations
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.