Is My Tanglewood Tales, for Girls and Boys; Being a Second Wonder-Book a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First American edition, first printing, published by Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, Boston, 1853, the month following the English (Chapman & Hall) edition -- publication was deliberately delayed so the English house could issue first for copyright reasons
• Two distinct 1853-dated print runs exist: roughly 3,000 copies printed by mid-August but withheld from sale until September 20, and a further 800 copies printed September 16, before any copies had reached the public
• First-printing points include 'Stereotyped at the Boston Stereotype Foundry' on the copyright page, an entry for this title in the rear advertisement list of Hawthorne's works that carries no amount beside it (later states add one), and publisher's ads dated 'August, 1853' describing the title as 'just out.' The second printing adds George C. Rand's imprint to the copyright page, which is absent from the first
• Bound in publisher's purple-brown cloth, covers ruled and blind-stamped, spine gilt-lettered, with an eight-page publisher's catalogue inserted at front

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. Verify this is the American 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?

The English Chapman & Hall edition was deliberately published first (for copyright purposes), with the American Ticknor, Reed, and Fields edition following about a month later even though both are dated 1853.P-034499

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later Ticknor and Fields (and successor) reprints combine this text with A Wonder-Book under a single cover or reset it with different illustrations; these lack the specific 1853 ad-catalogue dating and copyright-page imprint states described above.P-034500

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Tanglewood Tales, for Girls and Boys; Being a Second Wonder-Book a first edition?

A first edition of Tanglewood Tales, for Girls and Boys; Being a Second Wonder-Book by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Ticknor, Reed, and Fields) is identified by: First American edition, first printing, published by Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, Boston, 1853, the month following the English (Chapman & Hall) edition -- publication was deliberately delayed so the English house could issue first for copyright reasons.

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. The English Chapman & Hall edition was deliberately published first (for copyright purposes), with the American Ticknor, Reed, and Fields edition following about a month later even though both are dated 1853.

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

Later Ticknor and Fields (and successor) reprints combine this text with A Wonder-Book under a single cover or reset it with different illustrations; these lack the specific 1853 ad-catalogue dating and copyright-page imprint states described above.

I have a first edition of Tanglewood Tales, for Girls and Boys; Being a Second Wonder-Book — 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.