Is My The Fertilisation of Orchids a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition (Freeman 800), published 15 May 1862 under the full title On the Various Contrivances by which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilised by Insects, and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing
• Collates vi, 365, [1] pages, illustrated with one folding plate (Figure I) and 33 wood-engraved text figures (II-XXXIV)
• The earliest state (Freeman's variant 'a') is bound in vertically lined plum cloth and carries Murray's 32-page catalogue of advertisements dated December 1861 bound in at the rear; a later state of the same first-edition sheets (variant 'b') is instead bound in plum diaper-grain cloth with brown-coated endpapers and advertisements dated as late as September 1871
• Boards are blind-panelled with an orchid stamped in gilt at the center of the front board and the spine lettered and decorated in gilt; uniquely among Murray's Darwin bindings of 1859-1910, the cloth is plum rather than green

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.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The heavily revised second edition (1877) shortens the title to The Various Contrivances by which Orchids are Fertilised by Insects, dropping the opening 'On,' 'British and Foreign,' and the closing clause on intercrossing, and incorporates new material including additions drawn from Darwin's 1869 French edition; it is a different, later text, not a reprint of the 1862 book.P-035465

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Fertilisation of Orchids a first edition?

A first edition of The Fertilisation of Orchids by Charles Darwin (John Murray) is identified by: First edition (Freeman 800), published 15 May 1862 under the full title On the Various Contrivances by which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilised by Insects, and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing.

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.

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

The heavily revised second edition (1877) shortens the title to The Various Contrivances by which Orchids are Fertilised by Insects, dropping the opening 'On,' 'British and Foreign,' and the closing clause on intercrossing, and incorporates new material including additions drawn from Darwin's 1869 French edition; it is a different, later text, not a reprint of the 1862 book.

I have a first edition of The Fertilisation of Orchids — 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.