# Is "The Deerslayer, or The First War-Path" by James Fenimore Cooper a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Deerslayer, or The First War-Path by James Fenimore Cooper (Lea & Blanchard, 1841) is identified by: First edition, two volumes, published in Philadelphia by Lea & Blanchard on August 27, 1841 -- the fifth and final Leatherstocking Tale in order of publication, though first chronologically in the series' internal timeline. Philadelphia (Lea & Blanchard, August 27, 1841) precedes the first English edition (Richard Bentley, London, September 7, 1841) by eleven days; no earlier printing in any other country is recorded.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, two volumes, published in Philadelphia by Lea & Blanchard on August 27, 1841 -- the fifth and final Leatherstocking Tale in order of publication, though first chronologically in the series' internal timeline
- The London edition from Richard Bentley followed on September 7, 1841
- The true first printing was produced by the Philadelphia printer I. Ashmead and stereotyped by J. Fagan; per Spiller & Blackburn's descriptive bibliography, its copyright pages carry a parenthetical reference number that is absent from a later, similar-looking printing produced by T. V. and P. G. Collins, which runs about five-sixteenths of an inch taller and represents a subsequent printing rather than part of the original issue
- First-edition sets were bound in purple cloth, cut, with printed paper spine labels; copies that have faded or toned with age are sometimes described as brown cloth, but purple is the color recorded for the original binding by Spiller & Blackburn and confirmed by dealers who have examined unfaded copies
- Publisher imprint reads Lea & Blanchard
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | James Fenimore Cooper |
| Publisher | Lea & Blanchard |
| Year | 1841 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, two volumes, published in Philadelphia by Lea & Blanchard on August 27, 1841 -- the fifth and final Leatherstocking Tale in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, two volumes, published in Philadelphia by Lea & Blanchard on August 27, 1841 -- the fifth and final Leatherstocking Tale in order of publication, though first chronologically in the series' internal timeline. The London edition from Richard Bentley followed on September 7, 1841. The true first printing was produced by the Philadelphia printer I. Ashmead and stereotyped by J. Fagan; per Spiller & Blackburn's descriptive bibliography, its copyright pages carry a parenthetical reference number that is absent from a later, similar-looking printing produced by T. V. and P. G. Collins, which runs about five-sixteenths of an inch taller and represents a subsequent printing rather than part of the original issue. First-edition sets were bound in purple cloth, cut, with printed paper spine labels; copies that have faded or toned with age are sometimes described as brown cloth, but purple is the color recorded for the original binding by Spiller & Blackburn and confirmed by dealers who have examined unfaded copies.

## Is this the true first?
Philadelphia (Lea & Blanchard, August 27, 1841) precedes the first English edition (Richard Bentley, London, September 7, 1841) by eleven days; no earlier printing in any other country is recorded.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The 1845 Lea & Blanchard reprint, the 1849 Stringer & Townsend edition (printed from the original plates), and George Putnam's 1850 author-revised "Leather-Stocking" series edition all differ from the true first printing in binding and, in Putnam's case, in text; none reproduce the original purple cloth and paper labels.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Deerslayer, or The First War-Path* by James Fenimore Cooper a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-deerslayer-or-the-first-war-path
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.