# Is "The Black Riders and Other Lines" by Stephen Crane a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Black Riders and Other Lines by Stephen Crane (Copeland and Day, Boston, 1895) 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. American origin: Copeland and Day, Boston, 1895 is the true first and precedes any London appearance.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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)
- Publisher imprint reads Copeland and Day, Boston
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen Crane |
| Publisher | Copeland and Day, Boston |
| Year | 1895 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | The title page is set in small capitals and reads "THE BLACK RIDERS AND OTHER LINES BY STEPHEN CRANE" over "BOSTON COPELAND AND DAY… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## 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).

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Black Riders and Other Lines* by Stephen Crane a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-black-riders-and-other-lines
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.