Is My The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first issue (Freeman 937), of which 2,500 copies were published in two volumes on 24 February 1871
• First-issue text has 'transmitted' as the first word on page 297 of volume 1 (reset to 'When' in the second issue), errata for both volumes printed on the verso of the volume 2 title leaf, and a tipped-in 'Postscript' leaf at pages [ix]-x of volume 2 in which Darwin acknowledges 'a serious and unfortunate error' affecting pages 297-299 of volume 1 and pages 161 and 237 of volume 2
• Volume 1 carries a 16-page Murray catalogue of 'Popular Works' and volume 2 a separate 16-page catalogue of 'Standard Works,' both dated January 1871, bound in at the rear
• This is the first appearance of the word 'evolution' in any of Darwin's books, on page 2 of volume 1
• Original binding is green cloth stamped in blind, spines lettered in gilt, with blue-coated endpapers

How John Murray marked a first edition

• No formal edition statement on most 19th-century Murray firsts: identify by the title-page date with no 'New Edition' / 'Second Edition' / number-of-thousand line, the correct imprint ('John Murray, Albemarle Street'), a…

Full John Murray first-edition guide →

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. 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.
5. 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?

London (Murray, 24 February 1871) precedes the New York (D. Appleton) edition, which followed later the same year.P-035442

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Murray's revised 'Second Edition' (1874) resets the text as a single volume in three parts and drops the errata leaf and Postscript leaf specific to the 1871 text; cheaper reprints from the 1880s-the printed price onward are in plainer cloth without the January 1871 catalogues.P-035443

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex a first edition?

A first edition of The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex by Charles Darwin (John Murray) is identified by: First edition, first issue (Freeman 937), of which 2,500 copies were published in two volumes on 24 February 1871.

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. London (Murray, 24 February 1871) precedes the New York (D.

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

Murray's revised 'Second Edition' (1874) resets the text as a single volume in three parts and drops the errata leaf and Postscript leaf specific to the 1871 text; cheaper reprints from the 1880s-the printed price onward are in plainer cloth without the January 1871 catalogues.

I have a first edition of The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex — 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.