# Is "The Conjure Woman" by Charles W. Chesnutt a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Conjure Woman by Charles W. Chesnutt (Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1899) is identified by: First trade edition, first printing, a small octavo collating [4],229 pages, with a dated title page. A large-paper issue limited to 150 numbered copies and a London edition (Gay & Bird) were also published in 1899; dealer descriptions do not agree on the exact sequence of the large-paper issue relative to the trade printing, so this entry follows the standard trade first printing described above, which is how the book is normally collected and cataloged.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First trade edition, first printing, a small octavo collating [4],229 pages, with a dated title page
- Bound in publisher's brown cloth, the upper board pictorially stamped in orange and black, titles lettered in gilt
- Gathers seven interlinked dialect stories: 'The Goophered Grapevine,' 'Po' Sandy,' 'Mars Jeems's Nightmare,' 'The Conjurer's Revenge,' 'Sis' Becky's Pickaninny,' 'The Gray Wolf's Ha'nt,' and 'Hot-Foot Hannibal.'
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton, Mifflin and Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charles W. Chesnutt |
| Publisher | Houghton, Mifflin and Company |
| Year | 1899 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First trade edition, first printing, a small octavo collating [4],229 pages, with a dated title page |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First trade edition, first printing, a small octavo collating [4],229 pages, with a dated title page. Bound in publisher's brown cloth, the upper board pictorially stamped in orange and black, titles lettered in gilt. Gathers seven interlinked dialect stories: 'The Goophered Grapevine,' 'Po' Sandy,' 'Mars Jeems's Nightmare,' 'The Conjurer's Revenge,' 'Sis' Becky's Pickaninny,' 'The Gray Wolf's Ha'nt,' and 'Hot-Foot Hannibal.'

## Is this the true first?
A large-paper issue limited to 150 numbered copies and a London edition (Gay & Bird) were also published in 1899; dealer descriptions do not agree on the exact sequence of the large-paper issue relative to the trade printing, so this entry follows the standard trade first printing described above, which is how the book is normally collected and cataloged.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Conjure Woman* by Charles W. Chesnutt a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-conjure-woman
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.