Is My The Diverting History of John Gilpin (text by William Cowper) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• TRADE FIRST: an individual the printed price Picture Book (toy book) issued in illustrated colour paper wrappers, about 30 pp, roughly 9 x 8.5 in (23 x 21 cm), George Routledge & Sons 1878 (the two inaugural Picture Books, John Gilpin and The House That Jack Built, appeared December 1878), with the wood-engraved colour work executed and printed by Edmund Evans
• Of the sixteen Caldecott Picture Books, John Gilpin is distinctive as the only one to contain DOUBLE-PAGE colour plates (two of them), alongside full-page colour scenes and monochrome line vignettes
• First-issue dating rests chiefly on the REAR WRAPPER: the publisher's advertisements there should list only titles issued up to 1878, and the small-print Edmund Evans imprint ("Racquet Court, Fleet Street") should NOT carry the "E.C." postal district, which was added only from 1883 — an "E.C." imprint marks a later printing
• DELUXE/COLLECTED FORM: the Picture Books were later gathered as gift books; the grand collected volume is "The Complete Collection of Pictures & Songs" (Routledge, 1887, preface by Austin Dobson, engraved and printed by Edmund Evans), issued in an ordinary trade edition AND a Large Paper Edition limited to 800 numbered copies signed by Edmund Evans — tall folio (about 12 x 15.75 in), cloth-covered boards, gilt spine, top edge gilt
• For John Gilpin specifically the prized true first is the standalone 1878 Routledge shilling issue in original wrappers; the signed limited applies only to the collected 1887 gift book, not to the individual 1878 title

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. 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.
3. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
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?

The true first of the signature work is the standalone 1878 George Routledge & Sons issue of John Gilpin in original colour paper wrappers (colour printing by Edmund Evans) — one of the two inaugural Picture Books (with The House That Jack Built), both dated 1878 and released December 1878. Because Caldecott produced these for the London printer/publisher, the Routledge London issue is the primary edition and any American appearance is later/secondary. The 800-copy signed Large Paper limitation is a distinct 1887 object (the collected "Complete Collection of Pictures & Songs," Routledge), not an alternative first of the 1878 title, so it does not displace the 1878 wrappered Picture Book as the prized true first of John Gilpin itself.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The fragile shilling wrappers were rarely preserved, so many surviving "first editions" are actually later Routledge reprints, later Frederick Warne printings (Routledge sold its children's-book interests and the colour plates to Warne circa 1900, after which the Warne name and a stiffer binding replaced the Routledge wrappers), or copies rebound/extracted from the multi-title bound "Picture Book" omnibus volumes — these are cataloged as later printings or "First Edition Thus," not the 1878 first. Reprints are betrayed by later titles appearing in the rear-wrapper advertisement lists and by the Edmund Evans imprint carrying the "E.C." postal district (post-1883); Warne printings later add "Ltd." (post-1917). Collected/omnibus gift volumes gathering several stories are convenient but are not the first appearance of the individual 1878 title.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Diverting History of John Gilpin (text by William Cowper) a first edition?

A first edition of The Diverting History of John Gilpin (text by William Cowper) by Randolph Caldecott (George Routledge & Sons, London) is identified by: TRADE FIRST: an individual the printed price Picture Book (toy book) issued in illustrated colour paper wrappers, about 30 pp, roughly 9 x 8.5 in (23 x 21 cm), George Routledge & Sons 1878 (the two inaugural Picture Books, John Gilpin and The House That Jack Built, appeared December 1878), with the wood-engraved colour work executed and printed by Edmund Evans.

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. The true first of the signature work is the standalone 1878 George Routledge & Sons issue of John Gilpin in original colour paper wrappers (colour printing by Edmund Evans) — one of the two inaugural Picture Books (with The House That Jack Built), both dated 1878 and released December 1878.

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

The fragile shilling wrappers were rarely preserved, so many surviving "first editions" are actually later Routledge reprints, later Frederick Warne printings (Routledge sold its children's-book interests and the colour plates to Warne circa 1900, after which the Warne name and a stiffer binding replaced the Routledge wrappers), or copies rebound/extracted from the multi-title bound "Picture Book" omnibus volumes — these are cataloged as later printings or "First Edition Thus," not the 1878 firs

I have a first edition of The Diverting History of John Gilpin (text by William Cowper) — 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.