# Is "The Garies and Their Friends" by Frank J. Webb a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Garies and Their Friends by Frank J. Webb (George Routledge and Co., 1857) is identified by: Routledge issued Webb's octavo novel in 1857 in two parallel formats at different price points, both forming part of the same first-edition print run: a 'library' issue bound in leather, of which about two thousand copies were printed, and a cheaper issue in original boards with a color pictorial illustration on the upper cover. The leather-bound 'library' issue and the cheaper pictorial-boards issue were both part of Routledge's 1857 first-edition print run as market-tiered formats rather than sequential printings, and no priority has been established between them; both represent the true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Routledge issued Webb's octavo novel in 1857 in two parallel formats at different price points, both forming part of the same first-edition print run: a 'library' issue bound in leather, of which about two thousand copies were printed, and a cheaper issue in original boards with a color pictorial illustration on the upper cover
- Both issues carry three pages of publisher's advertisements at the front and three at the back, and both include the novel's two prefaces — one by Lord Brougham, the British parliamentary leader in the fight to abolish slavery, and one by Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Webb, a free-born Black Philadelphian who was living in England when the novel appeared, is generally credited with writing the second novel published by an African American author, after William Wells Brown's Clotel
- Publisher imprint reads George Routledge and Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Frank J. Webb |
| Publisher | George Routledge and Co. |
| Year | 1857 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Routledge issued Webb's octavo novel in 1857 in two parallel formats at different price points, both forming part of the same first-edition… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Routledge issued Webb's octavo novel in 1857 in two parallel formats at different price points, both forming part of the same first-edition print run: a 'library' issue bound in leather, of which about two thousand copies were printed, and a cheaper issue in original boards with a color pictorial illustration on the upper cover. Both issues carry three pages of publisher's advertisements at the front and three at the back, and both include the novel's two prefaces — one by Lord Brougham, the British parliamentary leader in the fight to abolish slavery, and one by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Webb, a free-born Black Philadelphian who was living in England when the novel appeared, is generally credited with writing the second novel published by an African American author, after William Wells Brown's Clotel (1853).

## Is this the true first?
The leather-bound 'library' issue and the cheaper pictorial-boards issue were both part of Routledge's 1857 first-edition print run as market-tiered formats rather than sequential printings, and no priority has been established between them; both represent the true first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Garies and Their Friends* by Frank J. Webb a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-garies-and-their-friends
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.