Is My The Black Riders and Other Lines a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The title page is set in small capitals and reads "THE BLACK RIDERS AND OTHER LINES BY STEPHEN CRANE" over "BOSTON COPELAND AND DAY MDCCCXCV" — the Roman-numeral date MDCCCXCV is the first point, and the Act-of-Congress notice on the verso is likewise dated MDCCCXCV. The entire text is set in small capitals, the poems untitled and numbered in Roman numerals, and the volume is dedicated to Hamlin Garland; collation is small octavo, pp. [i-iii][iv blank] 1-76 [77 colophon][78-80 blank]. Two issues of the first edition were produced with no priority established between them: the trade issue of 500 copies on wove paper in publisher's cream to tan paper-covered boards printed in black with the stylized orchid design (attributed by ABAA dealers to Frederic C. Gordon), all edges untrimmed; and 50 copies on Japan vellum with the text printed in green ink, in plain covers with a printed paper spine label, unopened in surviving examples (three further copies are recorded in morocco)
• Standard references cited by the dealers consulted are BAL 4070
• Williams & Starrett 2 (2b for the vellum)
• Kraus, Copeland & Day 20 (20a for the vellum)

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?

American origin: Copeland and Day, Boston, 1895 is the true first and precedes any London appearance. The census note that a "UK Heinemann issue followed 1896" requires correction — the 1896 book is not a separate British first but a joint imprint of the American publisher: the Google-digitized copy's title page reads "BOSTON COPELAND AND DAY MDCCCXCVI / LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN," it carries a stated "THIRD EDITION" leaf, and its Act-of-Congress notice is still dated MDCCCXCV. That 1896 joint-imprint printing is the English-market reprint of the American book, so only the two Copeland and Day 1895 issues (wove paper and Japan vellum) constitute the first edition, and there is no rival UK first to collect.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue exists for an 1895 Copeland and Day title. The reprint tells are on the title page: a date of MDCCCXCVI, the added "LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN" line, or a "THIRD EDITION" statement all mark the 1896 printing rather than the first. Further reprints to know include the c.1905 "Privately reprinted by courtesy of Small, Maynard" Boston/Cambridge printing, the Folcroft Library Editions reprint, and the 1977 R. West reprint, which library records explicitly describe as a reprint of the 1896 Copeland and Day edition. Modern print-on-demand and annotated paperback editions carry ISBNs and lack the decorated boards.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Black Riders and Other Lines a first edition?

A first edition of The Black Riders and Other Lines by Stephen Crane (Copeland and Day, Boston) is identified by: The title page is set in small capitals and reads "THE BLACK RIDERS AND OTHER LINES BY STEPHEN CRANE" over "BOSTON COPELAND AND DAY MDCCCXCV" — the Roman-numeral date MDCCCXCV is the first point, and the Act-of-Congress notice on the verso is likewise dated MDCCCXCV.

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. American origin: Copeland and Day, Boston, 1895 is the true first and precedes any London appearance.

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

No book-club issue exists for an 1895 Copeland and Day title. The reprint tells are on the title page: a date of MDCCCXCVI, the added "LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN" line, or a "THIRD EDITION" statement all mark the 1896 printing rather than the first. Further reprints to know include the c.1905 "Privately reprinted by courtesy of Small, Maynard" Boston/Cambridge printing, the Folcroft Library Editions reprint, and the 1977 R. West reprint, which library records explicitly describe as a reprint of th

I have a first edition of The Black Riders and Other Lines — 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.