Is My The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition is TWO volumes only, dated 1890, and critically carries the subtitle "A Study in Comparative Religion" on the title page — the single most reliable first-vs-later tell
• Bound in publisher's green cloth, spines lettered in gilt with a gilt mistletoe design blocked on the upper boards, edges uncut, with a publisher's catalogue (about 4 pp.) bound in at the end
• Confirmed against two independent sources (Burnside Rare Books and Bauman/other dealer descriptions) plus the Macmillan edition history

How Macmillan and Co. marked a first edition

• FIRM SPLIT FIRST — this is the master rule. 'Macmillan' is not one publisher. The London parent was founded in 1843 by Daniel and Alexander Macmillan; George Edward Brett opened the New York office in 1869; in 1896 the f…
• US Macmillan, pre-late-1800s: no printing statement was used. Treat the book as a first only when the date on the TITLE page matches the last (latest) date on the copyright page. A title-page year EARLIER than the latest…

Full Macmillan and Co. 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. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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?

UK first: Macmillan, London, 1890, in two volumes. This is a strong "first thus" trap — the three-volume second edition (1900) changed the subtitle to "A Study in Magic and Religion," the monumental twelve-volume third edition (1906–15) is the completed work and is separately collected, and the ubiquitous one-volume abridgement (1922) is neither. Presence of "Comparative Religion" in the subtitle and only two volumes distinguishes the genuine 1890 first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The one-volume 1922 abridgement (and its many reprints) is the item most often mistaken for the first edition; it is a later, condensed text, not a first-edition reprint. No book-club issue relevant to the two-volume first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion a first edition?

A first edition of The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion by James George Frazer (Macmillan and Co.) is identified by: First edition is TWO volumes only, dated 1890, and critically carries the subtitle "A Study in Comparative Religion" on the title page — the single most reliable first-vs-later tell.

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. UK first: Macmillan, London, 1890, in two volumes.

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

The one-volume 1922 abridgement (and its many reprints) is the item most often mistaken for the first edition; it is a later, condensed text, not a first-edition reprint. No book-club issue relevant to the two-volume first.

I have a first edition of The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion — 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.