# Is "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" by Oscar Wilde (published as 'C.3.3.') a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde (published as 'C.3.3.') (Leonard Smithers, London, 1898) is identified by: Published 13 February 1898 over the pseudonym 'C.3.3.' — Wilde's cell designation, the third cell on the third landing of Gallery C — with the author's name nowhere in the book. A London-only true first: Leonard Smithers, 1898, with no rival English-language edition claiming precedence and no original-language question, the work having been written in English.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Published 13 February 1898 over the pseudonym 'C.3.3.' — Wilde's cell designation, the third cell on the third landing of Gallery C — with the author's name nowhere in the book
- The first edition consists of 800 copies on Van Gelder handmade paper and a further 30 copies on Japanese vellum, 830 in all; the limitation note stating the number of copies printed appears on the reverse of the first leaf, and its presence is the primary first-edition point
- Collation is pp. [4], 31, [1], large post octavo with deckled edges, printed at the Chiswick Press; bound in quarter white linen over cinnamon cloth boards (dealers also describe the boards as tan or yellow), spine lettered in gilt
- There is a first-state text point in the poem itself: the first edition reads "And his step was light", altered from the second edition onward to "And his step seemed light", the revision persisting through the seventh edition and into most later reprints
- The second edition, printed 24 February 1898 in 1,000 copies from the retained first-edition plates, is identified by three tells — the limitation note on the reverse of the first leaf is omitted, the copyright date is changed to February 1898, and 'Second Edition' is printed on the reverse of the title page — so an unmarked title-page verso alone is not sufficient without the limitation note
- Publisher imprint reads Leonard Smithers, London
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Oscar Wilde (published as 'C.3.3.') |
| Publisher | Leonard Smithers, London |
| Year | 1898 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Published 13 February 1898 over the pseudonym 'C.3.3.' — Wilde's cell designation, the third cell on the third landing of Gallery C — with… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Published 13 February 1898 over the pseudonym 'C.3.3.' — Wilde's cell designation, the third cell on the third landing of Gallery C — with the author's name nowhere in the book. The first edition consists of 800 copies on Van Gelder handmade paper and a further 30 copies on Japanese vellum, 830 in all; the limitation note stating the number of copies printed appears on the reverse of the first leaf, and its presence is the primary first-edition point. Collation is pp. [4], 31, [1], large post octavo with deckled edges, printed at the Chiswick Press; bound in quarter white linen over cinnamon cloth boards (dealers also describe the boards as tan or yellow), spine lettered in gilt. There is a first-state text point in the poem itself: the first edition reads "And his step was light", altered from the second edition onward to "And his step seemed light", the revision persisting through the seventh edition and into most later reprints. The second edition, printed 24 February 1898 in 1,000 copies from the retained first-edition plates, is identified by three tells — the limitation note on the reverse of the first leaf is omitted, the copyright date is changed to February 1898, and 'Second Edition' is printed on the reverse of the title page — so an unmarked title-page verso alone is not sufficient without the limitation note.

## Is this the true first?
A London-only true first: Leonard Smithers, 1898, with no rival English-language edition claiming precedence and no original-language question, the work having been written in English. The census claim is confirmed in full, including the 800-copies-plus-30-on-Japanese-vellum limitation and the pseudonymous 'C.3.3.' issue. Smithers himself issued editions two through seven in rapid succession across 1898-99; the seventh, printed 23 June 1899, is the first to disclose the authorship, adding '[Oscar Wilde]' in square brackets below the C.3.3. — a landmark in the book's history but emphatically not the first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue documented. Later-issue tells are explicit and easy to read: Smithers' editions two through seven state their edition number on the reverse of the title page and omit the limitation note; the seventh edition (June 1899) additionally carries '[Oscar Wilde]' in square brackets beneath C.3.3. Any copy naming Wilde on the title page is by definition not the first edition, and the great majority of later reprints carry the revised "seemed light" reading.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Ballad of Reading Gaol* by Oscar Wilde (published as 'C.3.3.') a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-ballad-of-reading-gaol
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.