Is My The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Twain's first book
• 12mo (about 4.5 x 6.625 inches), 27 sketches
• New York: C. H. Webb, 1867, with the American News Company as agents
• 1,000 copies in the first printing
• The first printing has a single advertisement leaf on yellow/cream-yellow paper inserted before the title leaf — later Webb impressions of the same setting lack it
• Three unbroken-type points must all be present: an unbroken "1" in the folio on page 21; an unbroken "e" in "life" in the last line of page 66; an unbroken "i" in "this" in the last line of page 198

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 UK 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?

Confirmed: the C. H. Webb, New York, 1867 edition is the true first and the head of the Twain canon. There is no competing UK original — George Routledge & Sons, London, 1867 is a piracy that reprints the Webb text and was the first British appearance, and Hotten in turn reprinted the Routledge text in 1870; Routledge reprinted again in 1870 and reissued in 1872. Per the Mark Twain Project, none of the pirated texts was revised by the author, though their compositors introduced errors. A London 1867 Routledge is therefore an unauthorised reprint, not a co-first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Not applicable — the book predates book-club publishing. The reprint tells are (a) later Webb impressions of the same setting: no yellow advertisement leaf, and broken/worn type at pages 21, 66 and 198; and (b) the London piracies (Routledge 1867/1870/1872, Hotten 1870), identified by their own imprints. Beware supplied ad leaves and rebacked or resupplied cloth: verify the type points before accepting the ad leaf or the frog stamp.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches a first edition?

A first edition of The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches by Mark Twain (C.H. Webb, New York) is identified by: Twain's first book; BAL 3310.

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. Confirmed: the C.

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

Not applicable — the book predates book-club publishing. The reprint tells are (a) later Webb impressions of the same setting: no yellow advertisement leaf, and broken/worn type at pages 21, 66 and 198; and (b) the London piracies (Routledge 1867/1870/1872, Hotten 1870), identified by their own imprints. Beware supplied ad leaves and rebacked or resupplied cloth: verify the type points before accepting the ad leaf or the frog stamp.

I have a first edition of The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches — 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.