Is My The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first edition is the Canadian printing issued by the Rose-Belford Publishing Company of Toronto in October 1878, a single octavo volume of 225 pages bound in original green cloth gilt
• It followed the novel's serialization in Belgravia magazine (June-November 1878) and preceded the Chatto & Windus London edition, which did not appear until November 1878 in an issue dated 1879
• The London edition was published in two volumes paired with the shorter novella 'My Lady's Money' to fill out a sellable length, with six wood engravings by Arthur Hopkins
• Standard bibliographies (Parrish & Miller, pp
• Wolff 1355c
• Bleiler p

How Rose-Belford Publishing Co. marked a first edition

• 1879–1892: a cheap-reprint house notorious for unauthorized reprints (famously pirating Mark Twain). For its many reprint/piracy titles the 'Belford, Clarke & Co.' imprint, the city order on the title page, the dated tit…
• Because so many titles are reprints or piracies, 'first edition' of the work usually belongs to another publisher; for Belford-Clarke's own copyrighted titles, rely on the dated title page and bound-in catalog dating to…

Full Rose-Belford Publishing 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. 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 Toronto Rose-Belford edition (1878) precedes the Chatto & Windus London edition (issued November 1878, dated 1879, in two volumes with 'My Lady's Money' added) and is the true first book edition.P-036301

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Reprints from Chatto & Windus's later 'New Edition' series and cheap one-volume Collins reissues drop the Rose-Belford Toronto imprint and rebind in uniform publisher's cloth; any copy dated 1879 or later, or lacking the Toronto imprint, is not the true first.P-036302

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice a first edition?

A first edition of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice by Wilkie Collins (Rose-Belford Publishing Co.) is identified by: The true first edition is the Canadian printing issued by the Rose-Belford Publishing Company of Toronto in October 1878, a single octavo volume of 225 pages bound in original green cloth gilt.

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 Toronto Rose-Belford edition (1878) precedes the Chatto & Windus London edition (issued November 1878, dated 1879, in two volumes with 'My Lady's Money' added) and is the true first book edition.

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

Reprints from Chatto & Windus's later 'New Edition' series and cheap one-volume Collins reissues drop the Rose-Belford Toronto imprint and rebind in uniform publisher's cloth; any copy dated 1879 or later, or lacking the Toronto imprint, is not the true first.

I have a first edition of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice — 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.